For the people who have not found their fairytale yet, it is
out there waiting for you. Keep fighting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2020 by Kayla Silvers
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"He was her dark fairytale and
She was his twisted fantasy.
And together they made magic"
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
 
 
 
 
Chapter One
If my life was a fairy-tale, the birds would be singing, and
the light would be shining through the windowpane.
I thought it was a load of shit.
My home at the first level of the apartments on Luther
Street was not high enough for the birds to be chirping and
there was no light source due to the other block of
apartments across the road blocking the sun. The buildings
were situated in a way that at mornings, the rising sun
would peer through the window and ruin my plans to sleep
until noon.
If my life was a coming-of-age movie, I would be trying on
clothes at this moment in time to a nineties pop band.
My room was currently quieter than a graveyard and my
clothes only consisted of two styles. The styles being
graphic band tees or plain black ones.
Sometimes the colour of my room added to the overall
shittiness of my life. The walls were sickeningly plain white.
Not white as snow or as white as ice cream. I could not quite
think of a way to describe the void of colour apart from
miserable.
It was a colour that reflected how abandoned the apartment
was.
A long-lengthened mirror hung on one of the plain white
walls. Above that was a photo collage. Smiling back at me in
one of the pictures was my freshman self and my best friend
Lana.
It felt as if it was only yesterday that the photo was taken.
The only evidence that it was an old photo was that my
current green hair was nowhere to be found.
My best friend Lana looked the same, however.
She had always been beautiful with her long blonde hair and
her rosy cheeks that decorated her porcelain skin in the
form of two red circles. Her permanent blush and smile gave
her a girl-next-door charm.
Lana and I had originally bonded over our lazy habits of
watching trash television and watching life pass us by.
Although, a massive difference between the two of us was
that she was going places.
I imagined myself being her number one fan and right by
her side when she finally would be scouted by a record
labelling company. I imagined going to all of her tours when
she decided to release one of her songs that she had written
to the world.
It was that or I would rot in the four walls of my bedroom. I
could always curl up with my books and hide away from the
world.
A familiar voice was shouting from outside and it broke me
out of the study of my room.
Starting at the photo had made me summon the song-
writing devil.
I jumped up from my bed to race to the window, trying not
to fall over the huge pile of to-be-read books stacked up on
my floor.
It was always a challenging task to cross my bedroom floor
without standing on a hardback classic. My room had gotten
so bad a mess that I had forgot what colour my carpet was.
On top of the unread book pile was one that had already
been read. Several times. It was a collection of poems by
Edgar Allan Poe. The bound poems was one of my favorite
things to read. It was a place that I went to over and over
again when I wanted to escape the walls of my bedroom.
Perhaps if a one-word speaking raven showed up or a
telltale heartbeat appeared underneath me then my life
would not be so lonely or mundane.
The books that filled my apartment were my escape from
reality. Sometimes I felt like I lived in the pages of the books
I read. In the confined space away from the outside world, I
was somebody.
It was no secret that fictional worlds were much better than
reality. Unless it was a dystopian world.
The only good thing about living in a high block apartment
building was the view of the seafront. My street was on a
slight inclined hill that overlooked the promenade and
ocean.
From my bedroom window, I could see the august sun
setting outside. The orange sky was melting into a red
horizon beyond the waves.
I stared at the sunset and let out a curse.
"Ella!" Lana sang threateningly from the street below "If you
don't get out here in the next two seconds then I am leaving
you behind!"
I looked down to see my best friend standing on the
sidewalk outside the building. She had her hands on her hip
despite the large friendly smile on her face.
Grabbing my black denim jacket from the bed, I quickly
rushed along the hallway of my cramped two-bedroom
apartment and then I raced down the main stairway of the
building.
Lana was patient and it was a good thing to. She had
accepted that punctuality was not my strong point. A
recurring theme in our friendship was my lateness and her
tolerance to it.
A cool bitter breeze hit my face and reddened my nose as I
pushed open the door and walked outside.
She greeted me with a faux expression of anger. She
appeared more like a cute little puppy with scrunched
eyebrows and pout on her face.
"You do know that you don't look scary." I remarked with
laugh "A little constipated but not scary."
Both of us began leisurely strolling down the street. Our
arms linked together, and I rose a little on my toes that we
appeared more the same height.
"Just because you look like The Hulk when you are mad."
She giggled, her angry expression history "Especially with
that green hair of yours. You are Bruce Banner if he wore a
Thrasher t-shirt and black combat boots."
We were turning the corner away from my block when I
raised my eyebrow and pointed out "I am just impressed
you know The Hulk's name."
"Why are we in such a rush?" She went on to ask before
adding "The pier is not going to be that busy. Everyone has
school on Monday. People have essays to finish."
"No. That is just you." I rebutted with a haughty smile,
knowing that she still had her English project waiting for her
at home "Some people don't wait until the last minute to
start on their English essays. You now have two days to plan
and write an essay and I wish you the best of luck."
Lana was more of a creative person. She was in her own
world writing songs and singing them to herself when
nobody was watching. Her whole life was music.
I was somewhat creative myself in a more literary way. I
could not sing but I could come up with a good story. The
difference between us was that I could put my creativeness
to paper and finish my schoolwork on time.
"That is plenty of time." She tried to argue, waving me off.
"Oh really?" I replied, "It took you a month to write a half-
page and it was a personal essay."
"Maybe you are just a massive nerd, Freak Show." She stuck
out her tongue at me while nudging her hip against mine
"Ever think about that?"
"Freak show?" I repeated before scoffing "You wish you were
as cool dressed like me."
If I was being honest, then I was kind of envious of her
colourful wardrobe. Ever since I dyed my hair luminous
green, I found myself wearing black more.
"I will give you the fact that you can pull off a pink dress
better than me." I admitted, motioning down to her
sundress.
We tried swapping wardrobes for a joke one time and it did
not turn out well. The results made me look like something
found in a pantomime or a circus.
Dark clothes and dark make-up was the only thing that
suited me.
If I had a flowery fashion sense then I would look less like an
eighteen year old girl and more like a china doll.
People were always quick to comment on my pixie-like
appearances. My facial features were dainty and small apart
from my large bug-eyes. The bright colour and the long
length of my hair added to the whimsical look.
The sparkly silver eyeshadow and sharp black eyeliner
might have had something to do with it as well.
We eventually arrived at the main seafront and the long
promenade. The Santa Monica pier was a place of good food
and a place that held a bustling atmosphere. It was the
most visited attraction of the city, and it was also where
Lana and I spent our nights when we were free of
homework.
When the neon lights from the Ferris wheel and the other
attractions were so close that they lit up the sidewalk, my
phone made a buzzing noise.
The first thing I noticed about the text was the name of the
person. The second thing was the details of where they
wanted to meet up.
I replied with a quick text of acknowledgement before
putting my phone back in my pocket.
I cringed when I realised that I had to gently break the news
to Lana that our two would soon become a three.
Chase Andrews was the quarterback and captain of the
football team at our school, and he was my current fling. He
was popular and cocky and everything that filled the criteria
of the cliche football player.
The footballer and I were not confirmed girlfriend and
boyfriend or even exclusively dating. We made out and we
fooled around. We hung out and we understood each other. I
was not interested in entering a relationship with him and
he had never shown any interest in entering a relationship
with me.
Lana seemed to be admiring the lights of the pier reflecting
on the sea when she hummed “Who were you texting?"
I gently delivered "So…Chase is going to meet us on the
pier."
"What?" She whined, obviously not jumping up and down
with joy at the news "Chase is coming?"
"If you don't want to meet up with then I will ditch him. No
questions asked." I assured her sternly before adding
humorously "We will pull the period and sore stomach card
and run away."
My voice was light-hearted and playful, but I was deadly
serious.
She laughed but then her face contorted to confusion when
she questioned "Do you even like him, Ella?"
Chase and I had been seeing each other for the two months.
I had already known him for a few years prior, but we had
just been merely classmates that spoke a few words when
passing. I went to one of his parties and we got talking and
that was that.
He was nice enough. When I felt alone at my house and
when going to Lana's house too often would make her
suspicious of my loneliness then he was a place I could go
to.
"I know opposites attract and all but is he really boyfriend
material for you?" My best friend voiced rhetorically, her
tone giving away what she really thought.
Not knowing how to answer the liking him part of her
question, I mustered up a weak reply “I don't want a
boyfriend."
Lana frowned before softly explaining "I just think that you
need somebody that challenges you."
"You were the one that kept pushing me and him together." I
noted.
"Yeah, but that was way before we got to know him." Her
nose crinkled a little in the middle as she spoke "He is so full
of himself."
I could see the flashbacks of encounters with him whizz
around in her brain. The one where he punched a guy on the
football field in gym class. The time he got expelled for
peeing into a Starbucks cup at the back of the class. The
one time he got drunk, and strip teased the whole school at
a party.
"He is fun." I shrugged, looking down as I spoke "Also, you
don't come and see sci-fi movies with me, so I end up going
with him."
The wind blew her blonde hair across her face as she gave a
shrug.
"I am not expecting my epic cheesy love story anytime
soon." I said so that she did not get any ideas about
matchmaking me with somebody again.
I knew fair well that none of the boys at Leavendale High
had a romantic bone in their body.
"Deny it all you want but we both know you are a helpless
romantic." A grin broke out on her face as she teased "I saw
you tear up at the end of the Notebook when we watched it
at my place."
"I don't remember that." I lied, crossing my arms and
keeping them close to my chest.
She laughed at my dishonesty before exclaiming "You
claimed you were allergic to my bed duvet covers!"
It sounded like the worst lie at the time but now it seems
like the most idiotic thing I had ever said. I just did not want
to admit the ending of some chick flick movie made me cry.
Not knowing what to say, I stayed quiet when we crossed
the road.
"Don't worry, Little Lana." I reassure her as we neared our
destination "We will find you a new beau soon."
"Who are you calling little?" She sassed "You are way
smaller than me."
I rolled my eyes, letting out a huff.
"Maybe Chase prefers taller girls." She joked.
I punched her arm, faking to her and myself that the idea of
him being stolen away offended me.
"You have six inches on me max." I stated, making the
measurement with my two fingers to point out the size
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
"I am more his type." She remarked, reaching out and
messing up my hair.
Wrapping my arm around her so it rested on her shoulder, I
smiled evilly up at her "You are so right. Bimbos are his
thing."
Lana was the furthest thing from a bimbo but out
relationship thrived on teasing and taunting one another.
One time a girl moved to our school, and we were assigned
to show her around. We invited her to lunch and by the end
of it, she reported us to the principal for bullying each other.
She just did not understand our loving torment to one other
was just part of our relationship. It was fine anyway because
she and I worked better as a duo.
We complimented each other perfectly. I was book-smart,
and she was socially smart.
"If Chase doesn't win me the biggest teddy on the pier, then
I will riot." I informed her very seriously "He might run to
you after I am finished with him. This stuffed toy is pretty
much a dealbreaker in our not-so relationship."
"You can keep your playboy." She tutted, her big blue eyes
sparkling with amusement.
I burst out laughing "Like you were not drooling over the
football team photo in the school hallway a matter of weeks
ago."
Her reaction was to elbow me in the ribs before she
mumbled "Take it back, Drizella."
I cringed at her use of my full name. She knew that my
name was one of my most guarded secrets and that I
planned on keeping it that way until someone had to see my
death certificate.
Drizella was a horrible reminder of my mother's fascination
with the fairy-tale of Cinderella. Drizella was a painful
reminder that she named me after the ugly wicked
stepsister and not the heroine herself.
I would wring Lana's neck if she told another living soul my
real name.
The sun was almost gone from the sky. The only acceptable
time to go to the pier was at night. The colours were
something that the Northern Lights would be envious of. At
night was also the only time the hot dogs were sold. A
reason itself to go was the food.
"So what am I meant to do while you go canoodling with
Chase?" She asked and I did not miss the meaning behind
her eyes.
She did not want me ditching so that I could go make out
behind the cotton candy stall.
"We will not be canoodling." I delivered with a roll of my
eyes "He is simply there so he can win me a massive teddy."
Her eyebrow raise was full of scepticism.
"I can not throw far enough with my short arms." I explained
while waving my hands around in a Mexican wave motion.
"So you are not coming on the Ferris wheel with me then?"
Her face was full of mischief as she said it.
She knew fair well that I would rather sell all my clothes,
organs and all other possessions than go on that death trap
that they called an amusement ride.
"No way!" I uttered in horror "I am not letting that thing go
all Final Destination Three on my ass."
"The Ferris wheel is the slowest ride ever." She dragged out
the syllables to taunt me while not hiding her amusement
"And Final Destination Three is a rollercoaster. Not a metal
wheel."
"Final Destination Six then." I sassed, trying not to turn
green at the thought of going on "The new instalment
starring yours truly."
Like a true best friend, she should have shown support and
comforted me. She should have told me that I did not need
to go on any rides if I felt uncomfortable. However, I felt like
if we were not already at the pier then she would have been
googling quotes from the wacky horror movie or making
chicken noises.
The pier had the best ice cream parlour and the best mini
amusement park in all of California. The lights from the rides
lit up the now dark sky and the music was blaring from the
speakers. The waves hit up on the wooden structure of the
pier adding to the atmosphere of the place.
It was quiet for a Saturday night. It was unusually quiet
which had me wondering where everyone had gone to.
Maybe there was more Lana's than Ella's in the world.
Maybe there was people that had to give up a night at the
pier to go and finish their assignments due at the start of
the semester.
As we walked past the ice cream place and passed the first
stall, my phone went off again. It was Chase letting me
know he had arrived at the meeting point.
"Not even a love heart on his contact name." Lana tutted as
she peered over my shoulder at my phone screen.
I texted back and kept my gaze on my phone while replying
"We are just speaking casually. I'm not expecting a
declaration of undying love with my candy floss."
It was partly true. I did not expect a full-blown Drew
Barrymore rom-com love story in my life but it was
dishonest of me to say that I did not go home and read
romance novels every night and wish that my life was
somewhat like that.
I read a lot of books about love. A few were of the erotica
genre, but most were Bronte and Austen and other classical
romance authors.
Where Lana was publicly known as boy obsessed, I was
more of a secret sucker for romance. In the comfort of my
bedroom was where I obsessed over literary males and lived
a vigorous romance through the pages of a good book.
Lana had never had a boyfriend because she was waiting for
the one. Sometimes I sat and wondered if she thought a
knight on a white horse would turn up and sweep her off her
feet.
Even with only a few people traversing the pier, the place
was in full swing. The lights and the music made everything
seem alive and I allowed my eyes to shut momentarily.
I closed my eyes taking in the smell of cotton candy and
other sweet treats.
"How I wish rides played good music." I eyed the waltzers in
disgust.
Lana bobbed her head to the music but not before telling
me to shut up.
"Who are you telling to shut up?" I asked before mentioning
"It is not like the ride going to hear me and be offended."
She rolled her eyes, but her smile was still intact
"It is like the rides think to themselves what could make a
spinning chair with migraine causing light worse." I told her
with a sigh "So they decide to blast some overrated and
repetitive song. Waltzer? More like torture?"
We had conversations about our contrasting music taste not
long ago and it seemed clear our tastes could not be further
apart.
"What is wrong with this song?" She laughed, her eyes
flicking down to my wardrobe "It is not like they are going to
play Smells Like Teen Spirit. This is a tourist attraction. Not a
convention for emo's."
"Why not?" I asked pointedly "I might actually attempt to go
on the puke machine if Nirvana was on. Plus, I heard Celine
Dion playing one night next to the teacups."
"So?"
"So…that is a stupidly slow song. That does not really set
the mood either." I answered.
"Maybe it is because it reminds you of Titanic." She landed
the blow in her sweet as honey voice "Did you cry at that
movie too?"
"It was my allergies."
"Sure." She let out a small giggle "You know I really hope
you unleash your inner romantic one day."
"Never!" I gasped like the idea was ludicrous while sticking
my arms in front of me as if love was going to sucker punch
me in the face.
"Ella," My best friend sighed "I am pretty certain that if you
met the love of your life on this very pier tonight, you would
run away from him."
I dismissed the idea entirely "It is a good thing I am not
planning on meeting Prince Charming tonight."
I did not let many people in. I did not let anyone get close
enough to do that. I had trained myself to be talkative so
that it covered up the anxiety I had of socialising.
Smiling large enough and telling people over and over again
what they wanted to hear was how to avoid suspicion.
Lana tilted her head slightly and mentioned the song choice
of the pier again "My Heart Will Go On is a good song."
"For a funeral, Lana." I deadpanned before adding "To think
you are meant to be the musical one of us."
The blonde girl tutted "Well, it is a good thing that you are
dressed for a funeral."
My eyes fell to the edge of the pier where the railing was
the only thing stopping someone from falling into the ocean
below.
Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. Everything
apart from chest that was moving erratically.
Our walk to the hook-a-duck stall felt like the longest walk of
my life as I tried to keep my gaze on anything but the ocean
below.
"Ella?" Lana's voice was no longer teasing, and it had been
replaced with a soft tone as she spoke "You would tell me if
you were not alright. Wouldn't you?"
I nodded once and I painted a smile on my face. I knew that
if I spoke then it would be very possible that I would be sick.
The answer to her question flashed in my mind. Like a big
neon sign. It was brighter than any other light on the pier.
I was not ready to talk about it. I was not ready to talk about
my mother at all.
All I wanted was for this night to be carefree. I did not want
it to take a full one-eighty.
One thing that nobody could call me was a buzzkill.
"I am fine." I voiced the same words I had told her for the
last year "You don't have to worry about me."
She searched my face looking for any sign of lying. I held
eye-contact with her and counted to three to try and make it
convincing
If I said it enough, then it would come true.
Lana looked away. I was not sure if she bought it. She was
my oldest and probably my only true friend. She had
probably smelt the lie from me stronger than she smelt the
sea air, but she never said anymore.
"Don't worry about me." I repeated before referencing "I am
merely the support person. I am just the sidekick in this
story, but it is fine because I like Robin a lot better than
Batman."
She raised one of her light eyebrows as she challenged "Like
you would ever sit back and watch things happen and life
pass by."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I questioned, a cold chill
shooting you, my spine.
"Sidekicks usually just sit and do nothing." She mentioned
before laughing the next few words "You have a big mouth,
and you are not afraid of conflict."
She was right but I stuck my tongue out at her anyway while
putting my hands in my jacket pockets to warm them up.
A small circular object touched my hand as I rested my
hands inside the small denim holes. Wondering what it was,
I pulled out the mystery object and inspected it.
It was a quarter piece that I had probably just stuffed into
my pocket when I had got change for something.
I looked around for some pinball machine to get rid of the
coin.
My eyes skimmed over the open space before eventually
landing on a solution. A solution in the form of a rectangular
shaped green box with a mannequin-like figure inside.
I walked over to the box that was randomly placed in the
middle of nowhere. No other stalls were situated near it.
Through the window of the box was the top-half of a dummy
holding a crystal ball. The mannequin of the old fortune-
teller had grey hair and a purple waistcoat which had the
letters Ht. Rowknad written on it.
It was weird and whimsical looking but the coin slot part of
the machine read twenty-five cents, so I knew what to do.
The reflection on the box showed Lana laughing.
She questioned my actions as I stuck the quarter in the slot
"I thought you said you did not believe in fortune tellers and
fate."
"I need to get rid of the change." I mentioned to her as the
man in the box moved around "All things like this are a
massive waste of money. They give you fortunes that are
quite open ended and interpretable. The same one it gives
to fifty other people the same day."
The machine made a small bell-like noise and a piece of
paper slipped out of another opening that was not for the
money.
Lana beat me to it and grabbed the small piece of paper.
Her blue irises flicked over the words on the slip of paper
before she burst out laughing.
"What is it?" I asked, moving closer to see what she was
laughing at.
Her reply came in the form of a series of giggles "You will
meet your soulmate here tonight."
I grabbed the paper out of her hand and read it for myself
only to find out she was telling the truth.
You will meet your soulmate tonight.
Without much more thought about it, I crumpled the sheet
and threw it in the nearest trash can as Lana and I walked
further along the pier.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Two
A familiar smooth-sounding male voice stopped us in our
tracks "Ella!"
"Here he is." Lana announced dramatically in a hushed
voice before she referenced the fortune from earlier "Your
soulmate."
"I already told you." I shushed her with a glare before
mentioning "That machine probably gives the same fortune
to fifty other people today."
We followed the voice and the single wave to the hook-a-
duck.
Chase was leaning against the wooden stall in his letterman
jacket like he was posing for a photoshoot for Abercrombie.
The idea of that was not impossible to imagine. He was tall
and buff and blonde. He was attractive and the sort of a guy
I usually found myself attracted to.
He bounced up from his leaning stance to give both of us a
quick nod of acknowledgement which was in jock language
was a hello.
Two months with him and I was not entirely fluent in the
language and not any closer to understanding him.
"Hey." Chase's deep smooth voice filled the air as he
wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me towards
him "I have been waiting for you."
I should have been focusing on the show of affection. I
should not have been measuring him for my ulterior motive
for meeting up with him.
I studied his quarterback arms and concluded that the giant
stuffed toy was already in my arms.
Lana looked shocked at the slight display of affection from
the blonde boy and that made two of us.
Chase had sometimes acknowledged me in the corridors of
school, but it was not in a romantic way. The most public we
had been was a make out session under the bleachers. The
smell of teenage sweat did not add to the mood, so the kiss
was not that memorable.
My feet did a little shuffle to the side and away from him,
but he did not look too disheartened at the space.
"What's up, Lana?" He decided to greet the other person
standing in the little triangle we had unintentionally made.
I did not have to be a mind reader to know what was going
on in Lana's head. She was probably wondering why he was
putting on a voice that resembled a high surfer.
"Hi Chase." She greeted politely with a smile.
Their conversation started and ended there because the
blonde quarterback turned to me and murmured "Are we
getting out of here?"
I blinked and then blinked again before I mumbled "What?"
"Three is a crowd." He said, glancing Lana's way before
meeting my eyes
I did know how I expected the night to go with the three of
us. I was not stupid enough to think that we were going to
chat away all through the night. Apart from inviting Lana to
the pier because she was my friend and I wanted to hang
out with her, I also needed her there.
Sometimes there would be an awkward silence when I was
with Chase. Whenever we talked, it became painfully
obvious how different we both were. Going out and
spending time together was different from sitting watching a
movie.
A common behaviour I had with all boys I had dated was
that I did not talk to them a lot. If I spoke to them then they
would realise that I was a little bit of a whack-job and a
complete nerd and then they would choose not to stick
around.
I shook my head at him with a frown before I argued "No
way. Lana and I are a package deal."
"But—"
"But no. I’m not ditching her." I cut him off before
rhetorically asking "Who is she going to hang out with? The
statue of the hot dog?"
Lana grabbed my arm in an attempt to gain my attention
while she spoke up "Ella, it’s fine."
"It is not." I replied.
She sent me a smile before giving me an encouraging nod
"If I had a hot guy trying to steal me away, I would leave
you."
"Thanks." I muttered sarcastically despite the fact I knew
she was lying.
"It is not like you are going to come with me on the Ferris
wheel and I really want to ride." She mentioned before
asking "Unless you have changed your mind...?"
I shook my head vigorously.
Guilt built up at the bottom of my stomach, so I questioned
"Are you sure?"
"I will meet you late." She replied with a nod and a smile
"Text me when you are done with him."
Chase finally spoke up again and his words were directed in
Lana's direction "Is this not the point where you warn me
not to break your best friend's heart?"
I swallowed down the remark about him having to have my
heart in the first place to break it. I bit my lip to stop the
syllables from rolling off my tongue.
"I would not worry about that." Lana promised him "If a
miracle did happen and she did fall for you, I would not need
to harm you if you hurt Ella."
The guy that was next to me tilted his head cockily "And
why is that?"
"She would castrate you all on her own." Lana told him
acutely while sending a grin my way "Do not be put off
because of her small height. She is scary and she will kill
you."
Lana blew me a kiss before heading off in the direction of a
stall selling candy apples.
I waited until the blonde girl was out of view before
grabbing Chase's hand with my own.
"It is your turn to shine, pretty boy." I grinned up at him
before pulling his body along with mine as I began walking
"It is time for you to win me a giant teddy."
He rolled his eyes, but he let me drag him to the first stall I
saw with big cuddly creatures hanging from the roof of the
small shack.
I needed something large and warm to cuddle into at night.
Adorable black and white pandas were right in front of me
and in reach. They were practically begging to be taken
home with their cute little faces.
"No pressure or anything but if you don't win me that panda
then I will never speak to you again." I delivered with a
small smile, my tone teasing even if my heart would break if
I did not leave the pier with a giant panda.
In the apartment that I called home, the room that was once
occupied by my parents was now pretty much dedicated to
my stuffed animals. I decided to move them out of my room
after one traumatising encounter at night. I had woken up to
see a snake's eyes looking right into my soul. All of them
ultimately were moved into boxes and shoved into the
empty room.
It was not like my father needed the space in his bedroom.
He was never home.
Pete the Panda would live in my room, however.
Chase took my money and handed it to the old man behind
the counter. The stall keeper then handed him three balls
which I assumed had to throw into the little cans stacked up
two meters away from the both of us.
The footballer raised his hand with one white ball in it and
squinted his eye in a concentrated way to aim for the can.
I watched him silently, not wanting to put him off.
He lowered his arm before he could throw the ball and his
tone was laced with curiosity when he asked, "What is that
over there?"
"Where?"
His arm stretched out towards the sea and the horizon.
I followed the direction in which his finger was pointing and
looked at what had him so distracted.
It was a green light. It shone from afar over the dark
horizon.
The light that had him so distracted was what I assumed
was a light from a boat.
Turning back to the jock, I muttered "I don't know what it is,
Old Sport."
Chase's face scrunched up in confusion as he looked down
at me laughing my head off at my own reference.
One of my life philosophies was that there was always a
reference to be made. Either from a book or movie, there
was always a quote to fit every situation. Unless I was
feeling overly original and decided to make up my own
lines.
I stopped laughing when I noticed that I was the only one
that found my remark amusing.
"The Great Gatsby." I told him, trying not to add a duh to the
end of my sentence.
I would not usually react so badly to him not knowing
classical literature. I could not blame everyone else for not
spending all their days reading nonstop like me. However, I
knew he had read the book because it was on the syllabus
last year.
"You are in my English class. We read it last year." I stared
down at the ground while explaining to him "It is not funny if
you have to explain the whole plot of The Great Gatsby for
you to get the joke."
"I don't really pay attention in English." He replied with a
shrug that showed how much he did not give a shit.
"You don't say." I joked while taking another glance at the
green light.
Silence hung in the air.
He stood staring at me, so I felt inclined to say something.
"The green light is probably an alien." I voiced and then
went on to move my hand between my mouth and my ear
so that I could pretend it was a walkie-talkie "Houston, there
is no sign of intelligent life anywhere near here."
The look on the blonde quarterback's face made apparent
that he either did not understand what I was saying or that
he was not interested in listening.
I wanted to crawl into a ball and hide. I was only proving to
myself why I should not speak to guys.
Chase never said anything else as he resumed aiming the
ball towards the cans at the back of the stall.
I have never seen him look so concentrated before. I
wondered if it was because he was competitive or because
he was taking my threat seriously and he feared the
consequences of not getting the stuffed animal.
I once attempted to go to one of his football games with
Lana. We had to leave before the game even started. We
had eaten two chilli corn dogs and drank five strawberry
milkshakes each. It did not mix well, and we ended up
throwing up all over the place.
He offered me a side-glance when he gently asked, "Have
you spoke to your Dad lately?"
"What do you think?" I chuckled humourlessly before I asked
him the same question "What about you?"
His answer was the same as mine "What do you think?"
One thing that he and I had bonded over was our non-
existent relationship with our parents. His dad was always
working, and his mom had run away with her new boyfriend.
It was one of the only things we confided in with each other.
It was good having someone to talk to about my home
problems. Even if it felt like he never listened to what I said
most of the time.
We used each other in a way.
Chase still had not thrown the second ball of the three yet.
He was still moving his hand back and forward and he had
one of his eyes shut as he concentrated harder.
I figured it would be best to leave him to it. I made my way
to the edge of the pier and peered over at the water.
The ocean was wild. The waves thrashed against the
wooden pillar underneath my feet in time with my
heartbeat.
Most people would describe the sound and sensation of the
sea as calm and comforting but when I leaned over the
railing and looked down below at the unknown of the dark
waters, I thought back to that night.
It flashed in my head, and it hit me more brutal than any
wave could.
Nothing was out of the ordinary on that day. Then the day
turned to night. I was on the sofa napping with a headache
when my father burst into the apartment along with three
policemen. The rush to the hospital and the time in the
waiting room were all a blur.
I wish I knew what had gone on in my mother's mind when
she was still alive. I wish I knew what drove her to the edge
and made her end her own life.
My mother always seemed to be happy like a big bundle of
energy, but I could not help but feel like it was all a lie.
All my memories of her had been tarnished.
Just knowing that I was not enough for her to want to stay
was enough to make me want to scream. The thought had
not left my mind since last year. The shock and the pain did
not hit me until I woke up on Christmas Day to an empty
house.
My mother was dead, and my father was mentally and
physically absent. It was all too much.
The sea air was a usual temperature, but I felt overheated
and clammy. The heat was suffocating, and it was going to
swallow me whole if I was not careful.
I did not know I was crying until the tear running down my
cheek plummeted down into the ocean below.
A hand came on to my shoulder and I turned to see Chase
standing there with a giant panda.
He was not looking at me though. Neither was he looking at
the cute animal that he had squished too hard under his
arm. Whatever was on his phone seemed much more
important.
Chase continued to type on his phone, and he did not look
up at me.
"Is everything okay?" I asked the preoccupied blonde as I
rubbed under my eyes and got rid of the traces of tears.
"My buddy Kyle said that there is a fight on at the beach."
He answered while finally putting his phone away.
"What? Is this some weird version of fight club but they
prefer sand?" I questioned in confusion "Usually if two guys
disagree on something then they would just throw fists at
each other straight away and not organise a time and place"
Chase shook his head at me "It is more like a professional
fight."
"A professional fight on the beach at night?" I raised my
eyebrow at him while replying "That seems legitimate."
"The guys are really good fighters." He explained further "It
is kind of a competition, but they make profits out of the
bets people place."
"I still don't see what that has to do with you." I pointed to
his phone while I tilted my head at him "Are you going to
fight? Have you turned into The Undertaker?"
His eyes rolled at my remark, and he replied once his phone
rang again "I am going to watch the fight. It is the first one
ever and I don't want to miss it. That is why I am heading
there early. I need a good front row view."
"Okay." I added a load of fake disappointment to my voice
as I responded to his news.
"You could come with me?" Chase suggested.
"No. It is fine." I assured him "I need to go meet Lana
anyway."
He kissed me on the cheek before he ran off down the pier.
He almost knocked down a cart of candy floss on his
frenzied way.
I would have said farewell and hasta la vista but then I
noticed the large panda in his arms that was moving further
and further away from me.
Pete the Panda was with him.
He was a stuffed toy stealing little shit.
For him to ask me out and make me leave my little
sanctuary that was my room with all of my books was fine.
Even for him to ditch me was fine but stealing the panda
was an unforgivable crime.
I did not think the night could get worse.
With one buzz of my phone, I knew I had jinxed it.
I brought the phone to my ear and greeted Lana "Hello."
"How was your date?" She quickly blurted out and she did
not wait for my reply before speaking again "I have met this
amazing hot guy at the ice cream place."
It was good that one of us was getting a romantic night at
the pier or at least a date that had stayed until the end.
"That is great." I told her before explaining "Chase had
ditched me to go to some beach fight. Don't ask."
Lana hardly ever pursued the guys she liked. She had never
introduced herself or tried to start a conversation, so I knew
this ice cream parlour guy had to have made an impression.
"That is awful of him." She commented.
"Tell me about it. He is away with my stuffed panda." I said
to the girl on the other end of the phone call "I might just go
home and mourn my loss. The loss of the panda, not
Chase."
The phone went quiet for a second or two.
I looked around and wondered if I appeared as stupid as I
felt. I was standing alone in one of the most romantic spots
in the city. I felt like I should have been filmed for a heart-
breaking angsty music video.
"There is no way you are going home. Get your little butt
here now." She ordered of me before adding "I want to know
what you think of this guy. I think he is my soulmate."
We had only been away from each other for twenty minutes.
"Yuck!" I blurted out, smiling to myself knowing she could
not see it.
It was not that I did not believe in and want the white picket
fence happily ever after. I just did not believe that was
possible with a guy from high school.
Teenage relationships were nothing but fickle. Rarely any
lasted.
"He has a friend." Lana's voice lowered as she informed me
"So you will not be a third wheel. I promise."
I groaned and agreed before I hung up on her.
My walk to go and meet her was intentionally slow. My pace
was somewhere in between one of a snail and an old lady
walking to the bingo.
A few minutes later and I was in front of the ice cream
place. Along with the overall theme of the pier, the building
was lit up like a Christmas tree. The place gave off an
eighty’s diner look with the bright interior and neon lights.
I eyed the decor through the big windows while I pushed
open the door to the rectangular building.
The bright red booths of the place were almost empty. Only
two tables were occupied and one of them was by a man
that looked freakishly like Danny DeVito.
I spotted the back of Lana's blonde hair at a four-seater
table in the middle of the room. The back of her head faced
me. She looked too engrossed in the conversation with the
guy opposite her to notice that I had arrived.
I assumed that the one she was talking to was the guy she
was interested in. I could see exactly why she took in an
interest in him.
He was extremely good looking with dark skin and dark hair
that was cropped short into a buzz-cut. He was wearing a
turquoise short-sleeved shirt that showed off his impressive
arm muscles and his significantly sized chest. The mixture
of his blue shirt and his supermodel-worthy face radiated an
exotic vibe like he spent all day on the beach surfing.
I tore my attention away from Lana's guy and peered at the
other male at the table.
I stopped moving because he was a whole other level of hot.
Against the bright eccentric lights of the place, he stood out
with a dark domineering presence. His pitch-black hair and
his leather jacket made him look like someone found in a
motorcycle gang. A start of a tattoo was visible where his
neck met his chest, but his plain black shirt stopped me
from seeing any more.
This man had the meanest and grouchiest face I had ever
seen in my life, but he was stunning. So stunning that it was
hard to assign a word to his darkly ethereal looks. He was
not beautiful in a traditional way but there was something
about his dark eyes and his rough facial features that made
my heart start beating rapidly.
Even with a terrifying scowl on his face, he was by far the
most attractive man I had ever seen.
I blinked twice before studying him further.
He was the largest human I had ever seen. He was sitting
down but it was not hard to tell that he was over six and a
half feet and weighed well more than three hundred pounds.
His legs were not under the table but at the side and he
looked far too large for almost about anything. His arms and
chest swallowed his seat whole.
He looked so immovable like he was made up of
testosterone and everything else that was all man. His
shoulders were wide which made him look even more like a
bodyguard and added to his intimidating appearance. He
had the upper body of a wrestler with thigh-sized biceps and
forearms the size of swollen calves.
The giant leather-jacket-wearing man was on his phone, and
I doubt he was playing candy crush saga. He was not
engaging in the other two at the table's conversation.
His dark eyes moved away from under the table as he
noticed me standing there. His hard gaze studied me with
intent, leaving me frozen in place. His attention roamed
over me and left none of my body untouched by his eye. His
focus remained on my face for what felt like a small eternity
before he pulled his attention away from me and back to the
floor.
I took another look around the place and tried not to look at
him. I peered at a random picture on the wall as I watched
the sexy skyscraper move in his seat.
Once the well-built stranger moved, Lana and the guy she
was talking to moved their head to face what he was looking
at.
I turned back to see that they were looking at me.
Lana's face became visible as she twisted her body to face
my direction. She tilted her head at me as if she was
wondering why I was just standing there.
My face must have looked like a rabbit in headlights.
"Ella." She called and motioned with her hand for me to
come over "Get over here."
I nodded my head before joining them at the table. I took
the seat next to Lana and sent her a smile, but my attention
quickly strayed back to the man across from me.
The leather jacket-wearing Goliath was even more attractive
up close. Being opposite him gave me a closer observation
of him.
His dark eyes were almost black as he watched me too. His
jaw was clenched, and the strict line looked like it could cut
my skin if I ran my finger along it.
Nobody could have been that devastatingly handsome.
There had to be a flaw with him despite the obvious which
was that he was kind of scary.
I turned my attention back to Lana who was too busy in an
intense staring contest with her surfer dude. Neither of
them was speaking. They were just smiling at each other.
If I was not so glad that she had found someone that she
liked, I might have puked. It was like something out of a
movie where hearts floated around in the air and little kiss
shaped emojis floated around them.
It was completely nauseating in a sweet kind of way.
"Are you going to introduce me?" I muttered under my
breath to Lana because I was starting to feel awkward that I
was just sitting there.
"This is Brennan." She giggled softly while motioning to the
boy across from her and then her voice came out nervously
when she motioned to the large man next to him and added
"And this is his friend Stone."
The large man was called Stone and I almost burst out
laughing at how much the name suited him.
He looked so big and powerful. He towered over everything,
and he oozed a dark, dominant energy that threatened to
consume me whole. He radiated a pure alpha male energy.
Stone glanced at me and then looked back at the floor
before glancing at me again. His mean-looking face went
strict, and his features tightened like he was clenching his
jaw or grinding his molars.
His few glimpses were discreet and if I blinked then I would
have missed them.
"Hi." I spoke up, offering both guys a little wave "I'm Ella."
Brennan looked away from Lana to greet me back "It is nice
to meet to you, Ella."
I smiled and replied a little awkwardly "You too."
The huge man or Stone as he was called was looking right
at me.
He stayed completely still for a few seconds, entrapping me
in his gaze with his dark pupils.
I did not know if they were unusually black or dilated at that
moment.
I met his gaze head-on and offered him a small smile.
His jaw tightened and it showed off the sculpted edges of
his rough-looking face before he forced himself to turn away
and focus on something outside.
He had not smiled at me or even tried to look friendly. He
had just looked at me before going back to not
acknowledging me at all.
I peered over at the stoic face and concluded that he did not
like talking.
Silence hung in the air at the table and it had me thinking
that I should have just gone home.
"So, you are The Notebook crier then?" The friendlier male
Brennan questioned with a smirk.
It had become apparent he was the talker of the two and
the opposite of the silent killer type of man next to him.
"What?" I let out the word with a small laugh, twiddling my
thumbs together as I rested my arms on the table.
"That was what Lovely Lana told me." Brennan pointed out,
his teasing playful smirk still decorating his mouth.
I was shocked that he had given her a nickname ten
minutes after meeting her and I was shocked Lana had
ratted me out about my love of the romance film.
I had a reputation to hold of a semi-cool person. Not a girl
that cried at Nicholas Sparks' greatest creation.
My lip pursed and I narrowed my eyes in an attempt to pull
off an angry face. It needed work however and I found
myself pondering if the giant opposite me would be willing
to help.
The giant seemed to have the whole intimidating expression
perfected that would have grown men running home to their
moms.
"I told you it was my allergies." I defended and crossed my
arms before adding "I have never cried at The Notebook."
Lana had her hand on her mouth, trying to contain her
laughter.
I smiled at her evilly and got ready to take my revenge.
"Brennan, I think you should save yourself and run now. Get
out of future dates with her before it is too late." I stage
whispered over to him while motioning with my head
towards my best friend "This Lovely Lana as you have
nicknamed her likes to watch Barbie movies in her spare
time. The movies with the fairies and the flying horses and
the sparkly castles. She goes to the cinema with the five-
year-olds."
I also went with her and the five-year-olds to see the Barbie
movies. It was my best-friend duty to have the mortifying
job of taking her to see the films.
Lana blushed at my comment and looked to her lover boy,
waiting for his reply as she softly kicked me under the table.
Brennan chuckled before sending a wink to Lana "I think
that is cute."
I rolled my eyes at my backfired plan.
"For a seven-year-old maybe." I deadpanned before adding
in the direction of Brennan "Anyways, you should be on my
side."
"And why is that?" He rebutted, cocking his head to the
side.
"As the Spice Girl's once said if you want to be her lover," I
pointed to Lana who looked to be telepathically
communicating with me to shut up while I spoke, "Then you
got to get with her friends."
A pair of dark eyes belonging to the silent broody man were
set on my face. He was staring at me fiercely like I had the
answers to the universe on my forehead.
My whole face was heating up from his unfaltering stare. My
cheeks were starting to tingle from the sheer heat of his
study on me.
I was feeling particularly friendly, so I tried thinking of a way
to include him in the conversation.
"Do you by any chance like Barbie films?" My voice came
out quiet and soft as I uttered the question.
Stone was already watching me when I turned my attention
to him.
He did not give me an answer or any kind of words of
acknowledgement. He grunted a deep noise and that was it.
"I will take that as a no then, Lurch." I commented on his
rudeness.
He was too volatility attractive to have an award-winning
personality anyway.
Lana elbowed me and Brennan's eyes went wide as he
turned his head towards his friend.
They were acting like I had poked a bear with a stick. Like
the guy that was in front of me was a bomb about to go off.
The silence stretched until a small miracle happened.
A guttural noise came out in a rough series of words "What
did you just call me?"
His voice was deep. Deeper than any voice I had heard
before. It was strong and husky and low. That voice was one
I could tell kept people up at night. I could not help but
imagine him reading for a thriller audiobook.
Scary but hot was a pattern with this guy. He might not have
given anything away about himself, but I could rule out that
his flaw was his voice because it was certainly not squeaky.
It was the opposite and the low-octave sound vibrated
through me.
When walking in here, I felt a lot better being inside and
away from the sight and sound of the sea. It turned out that
I had found myself in a different type of danger from the
wrath of the mysterious man across from me.
"Lurch from The Addams Family." I answered and then I went
on to explain "He is the big guy that never speaks and only
groans and grumbles occasionally."
His face remained stoic. His eyes however told a different
story as they watched me unfalteringly.
I had the urge to jump up and scream boo to try and scare
him. I wanted to make his expression budge, but it appeared
quite a challenge.
I wanted to know how much he worked out to get so big and
muscly. I wanted to know why his eyes were so black and if
he wore contacts. I wanted to know if he was capable of
smiling.
"Wait! I think he has a catchphrase." I spoke aloud before
changing my voice to one of a monotoned heavy smoker
male when I remembered the famous phrase from the
character of Lurch "You rang?"
Brennan sat still in his seat next to the giant. He was
watching Stone for his reaction like he was waiting for a
jack-in-the-box to pop or for a volcano to explode.
Stone's mouth twitched upwards for a split second as he
continued to watch me.
The small smile was too quick to memorise which I should
have because I suspected I would not see it again.
"Maybe you are Wednesday Addams instead." I suggested
to him before breaking contact so I could explain my
hypothesis to Lana "It is like that scene where she tries to
smile and it looks like it causes her actual pain to do so."
I glanced back at Stone who I had now decided to refer to as
Lurch.
He was looking at me too. So intensely that my face was
starting to heat up again.
The giant stranger watched me like he could not believe
what was happening. He watched me as if I was something
other than human.
Maybe he was not used to being called a name. I admitted
to myself that even I would not like to be on the bad side of
his muscles.
His body was built like a gorilla. Not even a normal gorilla
but more like Godzilla.
Everything about him was closed off and monotonous. Even
his eyes had no colour.
They say eyes are the windows to the soul, but his windows
were hidden by blackout curtains and a brick wall the size of
him. They were a complete mystery.
He was a complete mystery.
I shook myself out of my trance-like state and focused on
the happier side of the table. Brennan was watching Stone
watch me and Lana was just watching me.
Lana's gaze flickered between Stone and me until she
settled on me and asked "Anyway, how was your date?"
"It was fine." I shrugged before replying "The whole twenty
minutes of it."
The small hint of a second-long smile was without a doubt
gone from Stone's face now.
His hands were balled into fists resting on the table. His jaw
clenched and unclenched like a ticking time bomb. He was
grinding his molars as he listened to the conversation and
his scowl had deepened even further.
Stone appeared murderous. Every part of his muscular body
was tensed as if he was fighting back a predatory streak
that lingered near the surface of his emotionless facade.
I had no clue why he looked so vicious like one more little
thing could set him off on a killing spree.
He probably did not need a reason and I was looking far too
deep into it.
Brennan sent a small smile my way as he mentioned "Lana
mentioned you only went on the date for a stuffed teddy."
It turned out that this guy was not just a massive flirt. He
was also a massive tease. It made me wonder why he hung
around with the dark cloud beside him.
The scowling scary man looked like someone that did not
take well to insults. He looked like he dealt with them fist-
first.
"You must be a pretty damn good flirt." I commented before
asking "How did you get all this out of Lana in the twenty
minutes that I was not there?"
Brennan delivered with a mere roll of his shoulders "Just
worked my charm."
Swivelling around in my seat on the booth, I pointed at Lana
accusingly while challenging "Did you give him my bank
details as well?"
Her response was a shrug and a small guilty filled smile.
I shifted in my seat when I felt the dark pair of eyes that
were still unwitheringly studying my face.
"How did you two meet?" I asked while glancing between
Lana and Brennan to keep myself distracted.
A dreamy sight left Lana before explaining "I went to get a
candy apple at the stall and there was only one left.
Brennan took it."
I was confused at how she found that romantic. If some
random person had stolen food from me then I would not
stay and chat. I would kick their ass or at least try to
anyway.
Lana continued with her story "He promised that he would
give me half the candy apple if I rode the Ferris wheel with
him."
"I have to give it to you, Lover Boy." I delivered to Brennan
with an impressed laugh "You are pretty smooth."
"I try my best." He replied with a smirk before adding "It is
not as good as The Notebook where he climbed the wheel.
That is probably why you are not fangirling right now."
I flipped him the middle finger but I smiled at him, so he
knew it was light-hearted. I secretly admire his sense of
humour, so he had earned the stamp of approval for me.
My best friend nudged my shoulder "You still didn't answer
my question."
"What?" I replied, turning to her.
"How did your date go?"
Our table shook violently and indomitably before I could
answer.
Living in Santa Monica meant that my first thought was that
it was an earthquake. I quickly changed my mind when I
saw the face of the man opposite me.
Stone had kicked it or punched it or his tensed body had
moved it in a way. It was clear by the way he was clenching
his jaw and the thunderous fury in his eyes.
I wanted to ask him who had peed in his ice cream.
Then I noticed he had not gotten an ice cream like the other
two at the table. I almost let out a laugh at the idea of him
with a colourful sweet treat. The rainbow sprinkles would
clash with his all-black look and stern serious expression.
I ignored him like he had ignored me.
"It was fine." I answered Lana's question "I guess."
Brennan laughed and cocked his head to the side while
pointing out "You are not very convincing."
"The main issue was that he never got my Great Gatsby
reference." I replied before going ahead and explaining "He
saw this green light in the distance and asked what it was.
Naturally, I responded by calling him Old Sport. He looked at
me like I was insane and that I was speaking some sort of
ancient alien language."
Lana let out a small giggle "Not everyone can be as big a
book nerd as you are, Ella."
"He is also away with my stuffed panda." I sighed and shook
my head at the image of him running away with Pete "He
better bring it to school on Monday or I will go all Kung Fu
Panda on him."
I made a mock ninja pose to show how serious I was about
the matter.
"You are going to carry a panda around the corridors?"
Brennan questioned in disbelief "Does that not go against..."
Brennan trailed off and he did not complete the sentence as
he stared at my wardrobe that consisted of a shirt, a black
leather skirt and a pair of fishnets underneath.
"I could just say the teddy is for a satanic ritual." I returned.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to offend you." Brennan quickly
assured me before complimenting "You look really cool."
"Oh." I said in surprise, glancing down at my hands on the
table "Thank you."
A gruff noise sounded from the man opposite me that
sounded like a strangled carnivorous animal.
I tried not to think about what that noise was supposed to
mean.
Brennan glanced next to him before continuing to speak
"What colour is your hair anyway? Emerald?"
I opened my mouth, but my reply got lost in the air when a
new voice interjected.
"Puke Coloured?"
The voice was deep. Too deep and too rough to be owned by
anyone other than the giant. The best way to describe it
was gravelly or guttural.
The silent skyscraper had finally spoken and he had insulted
my hair.
I happened to love my hair. The green suited me. Much
more than my natural brown hair had. I loved my green
colour and there was no way I was going to let him insult it.
Everything happened so fast. One minute I was narrowing
my eyes and sitting back in my seat and the next I was
leaning over the table and pointing a finger at the grumpy
face of the man who had insulted me.
"Listen here, Lurch. You obviously have bad taste in colour."
I bit out the words while narrowing my eyes further "It is
fairytale green."
A pause of silence filled the space between him.
Stone grumbled, his voice hoarse and demanding "What the
fuck is fairytale green?"
I leant back in my chair and let out a huff. I pursed my lips
together and blew a strand of green hair that had fallen
onto my face when I moved forward. 
The words escaped me before I could stop them.
"It is the green of the trees at an outdoor wedding. It is the
green of the grass where you sit with your partner when
you're old, shaking your fists at the neighbour’s kid who
trespass on skateboards. It is the green of my hair." I
rambled on in one quick breath "It is fairytale green!"
He made me expose a rant about colours and fairy tales and
I had no idea where it came from. The words just slipped my
mouth before I could hold them back.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the man opposite. He
maintained eye contact back but with a slightly softer
expression than mine.
The eye-lock broke when Brennan coughed which made me
look at him. What I found was him staring at Stone with a
face of bewilderment.
Brennan then stage whispered to Lana "Is she always this
scary?"
"Yep." Lana replied instantaneously before giving an
example "One time a guy called me a dumb blonde and he
never approached me again after Ella was finished with
him."
One guy in our French class called her a dumb blonde so
after class ended, I grabbed him and threatened him. I
threatened to pluck every hair out of his head while he was
sleeping, make a voodoo doll out of it and then hex him. It
sounded ridiculous but it worked. I never seen him around
the school again.
Lana went on to tell another story about me. Brennan
listened to her while laughing at the appropriate parts.
Stone was strangely interested too because he had leaned
forward infinitesimally.
"We should go out again some time." Lana suggested to the
guy across from her "Maybe next time I will get a full candy
apple."
I liked Brennan but I was going to keep an eye on him. He
was too smooth for my liking. I had to make sure he had no
intention of hurting my best friend.
The other male at the table was not going to be a problem. I
doubted he would be seducing anyone any time soon with
his petrifying scowl and his hatred of speaking.
"I like sharing my food with you." Brennan said with a single
chuckle "Maybe next time, we should share spaghetti. Like
Lady and The Tramp."
"That ends in a kiss though." Lana replied absentmindedly.
"Whatever you wish, lady." Brennan replied, bowing his head
slightly.
Lana responded to him before she could think her words
through "Okay, tramp."
I cringed with second-hand embarrassment at her reply.
I had to my bite lip to restrain myself from laughing but it
was no use. A small light laugh escaped from me and filled
the air.
Stone who had his attention focused on anything but me
turned his head so quickly at the noise that I thought he was
about to snap his neck.
The movement was rapidly quick and almost desperate.
My laughter died out when I met his eye.
"It is a date, Lovely Lana." Brennan delivered to the blonde
whose cheeks were bright red before he motioned to me
"We might have to leave her at home next time."
"Fine by me. More of your cringey romance might make me
barf. It is so bad that I might actually puke on your friend
here." I butted into their conversation before meeting the
pair of dark eyes and referenced his comment from earlier
“You might end up having the same colour hair as me."
Stone chuckled. It was deep and hollow-sounding, and it
sent a shiver down my spine.
The man with muscles the size of melons leaned closer. His
arms rested against the table as he leaned over slightly.
Even sitting down the ridiculous height difference between
us was apparent.
"Are you free for their next day?" The deep voice of the
large man rebutted "I heard Disneyland is opening back up
and the haunted mansion wants their extras back."
I opened my mouth and closed it again. I repeated the
action a good few times.
The giant had delivered a good insult. I could not deny that.
Nothing came to mind and I remained quiet.
He had thrown me off-course.
"Haunted Mansion is actually my favourite ride so the joke is
on you." I ranted lamely to seem not taken aback by his
sudden capability of speaking "I doubt you have ever been
to Disneyland. You have probably only gone to Florida to join
The Outlaws because there is no way you wear that stupid
leather jacket without owning a motorbike."
I wished that he was an ugly looking troll.
His black wardrobe only highlighted his immorally good
looks. The leather jacket and the dark jeans only
compliment his big burly body and added to the scary biker
vibe he had going on.
I wanted to know if he ever got caught off guard when he
saw the colour of his obsidian eyes.
Stone had no emotion present on his face when he
grumbled "It is a Ducati."
"Wow." I exaggerated a gasp while speaking "Do you expect
a round of applause or something?"
I noticed I had leant over the table. I had moved closer to
meet him halfway, so I hastily rushed to sit back in my seat
once I noticed our proximity.
I crossed my arms and continued to glare at him, trying to
rid my brain of the thought that motorbikes were cool.
Looking at the other half of the table, I watched as the other
two exchanged numbers while trying to forget the steadfast
dark gaze heating up the side of my face.
"Are you not giving Stone your number?" Brennan peered
up from his phone while speaking "He is feeling unusually
chatty tonight."
There was only one thing to do at that moment.
I made a phone shape with my thumb and pinky finger and
mouthed to Stone "You rang?"
I swore I saw the corner of his lip twitch. It was that or the
neon lights of the ice cream parlour had messed with my
vision.
"Did you just smile or am I seeing things?" I asked before
raising my hands upwards towards the ceiling "Have we just
witnessed a miracle?"
"Maybe it is just you that made me smile."
I felt my body still as the deep guttural words hit me.
Stone's jaw clenched and he stared at something else other
than me while grunting "You probably put a spell on me or
something, witch."
It was not the first time someone had insulted me for my
appearance or for my personality. It was not even the
hundredth time, and it would not be the last but I had
learned to stick up for myself over the years.
I had learned to fight back.
Rolling my eyes, I rebutted "If I was a witch then I would
have made you disappear already."
I was not going to easily forget his little comment about my
hair. I also was not going to forget him calling me a witch.
A fierce heat travelled from the tip of my toes all the way up
to where my forehead met my hair. A wave of warmth shot
through and powered me.
The man opposite had managed to bring out a side of me
that I did not recognise.
"At least I am wearing a little colour." I remarked before
motioning with my narrowed eyes to his big hard chest "You
look eviller than me with your all-black wardrobe. I think you
should drop the jacket and maybe you would look a little
less like a gangster."
Nothing apart from his dilated pupils and his jaw ticking
gave away that he was listening and receiving my words.
I tried to remain unbothered. I tried to keep calm and
collected but the more I looked at him the more heated I
felt.
He was jacked. He was a mountain of a man with his chest
spanning the width of two of me and his muscles the size of
my thighs.
"I could fight you." I tried to deliver confidently while sizing
him up "I would win too."
I would win because he would have to bend down to reach
me. I would use that time to punch him in the gut.
Insulting my hair was an unforgivable crime and I would
never forgive him. Not that I was planning on ever seeing
him again.
A chuckle left his chest, the throatily sound making his
adam's apple bob slightly.
"Whatever, Rock." I huffed.
"Stone." He grumbled, his tone full of vexation.
"I don't care." I bit out.
Brennan intervened by coughing "Well then."
Bafflement was written all over Brennan's face as he
watched Stone with a small smirk.
Lana spoke up and broke the weird intensity hanging about
my side of the table "Do you both go to school?"
"I am starting on Monday." Brennan answered, "Some school
called Leavendale High."
"Ella and I go there!" Lana examined with excitement "We
will show you around."
Stone was still watching me when I turned back to look at
him. His eyes darkened in the process of studying my
features.
Brennan smiled at the both of us "I guess I will see you both
on Monday."
I let out a sigh of relief when I realised Brennan had used a
singular subject pronoun and not plural.
As I started to feel my attention gravitate towards the giant,
I remained determined not to look at him. Instead of giving
in to temptation, I took my phone out of my jacket pocket
and checked the time to see that it was just before nine
o'clock.
"Shit." Brennan cussed abruptly "We have to go."
Whereas Brennan was in a rush to go, Stone looked
reluctant to move from his spot opposite me.
I figured that only he could be moved by his own accord.
Nobody would manage to move that huge frame by force.
"That is okay." Lana assured him "Ella and I have to go
anyway."
Both of us stood up first before they could. I walked around
the booth to join Lana on the other side of the table while
she said her awkward goodbyes to her lover boy.
Stone had sat forward, and his eyes had followed me around
the table. Something primal passed between his irises as his
gaze zoned in on me.
One of his large veiny hands on the table flexed before
turning into a fist.
"I would say it was nice to meet you." I addressed the giant
who was still watching my every move "But it really wasn't."
He chuckled again. It was deep noise filled with something
that felt a lot like a promise or maybe even a threat.
"I will see you soon." Stone offered me the five words with a
small nod of his head, his expression still unreadable.
"I hope not." I replied with a fake sweet smile.
Lana led the way to the door of the ice cream parlour. I
followed behind but I could not resist a final look back.
My eyes met the pair of dark ones for a split second before I
turned back to face the other way.
Before I opened the door to the exit of the ice cream
parlour, I rose my middle finger up in the air and flipped him
off over my shoulder before I left.
The walk back was filled with Lana's romantic gushing. She
narrated every single detail of her encounter with Brennan.
Now that she had found out he would be attending
Leavendale, she would not stop going on about how good it
would be to have him there.
I knew that on Monday morning, she would be the talk of
the school. She was already popular for her kindness and
musical talents, but a good-looking guy would only make
her more talked about.
We parted ways at my street with her continuing to walk
ahead up the hill towards the nice identical rows of houses.
She lived a matter of blocks away, but it was a completely
different world from where I stayed.
I walked into my apartment building and climbed the stairs.
It was like something out of a horror movie with the
flickering light, the dark hallway and the unlocked door of
the place I was supposed to feel at home.
A horror movie would be more favourable than what lay
behind the door of my apartment. I would take a chase from
Freddy Kruger over a conversation with my dad any day of
the week.
"Dad?" I called into the dark as I closed the door behind me
and switched on the light.
My father was sitting at the square glass table in the
kitchen. If it was not for the glass table reflecting his face, I
would have guessed he was sleeping. His head was bobbing
up and down like he was trying to remain conscious.
Without thinking much about it, I crept forward to him and
laid a hand on his shoulder. I gave him a gentle nudge but
he did not respond.
I whispered softly with a voice that came out more childlike
than I intended "Dad?"
His body jolted when he felt my touch. He stood up abruptly
at the contact causing me to cautiously step away.
His eyes were now wide open. They quickly filled with
disgust once seeing me.
"Are you okay?" I voiced, reaching my hands out to help him
find balance.
The resentment in his eyes strengthened and it stopped me
in my tracks.
I let my arms fall to their side before I brought them back up
and crossed them over my chest.
"What are you doing here?" He spat out, his voice bitter and
distant.
"I live here." I replied, raising my voice so he could hear me
clearly "That is more than what could be said about you."
He stumbled slightly but he did not fall.
"Where have you been the past month?" I asked, trying to
keep my posture and my words strong.
He did not need to answer. The stench of whisky and vodka
and every other alcohol was overpowering from metres
away.
My father slumped back on the chair at the table, and he
closed his eyes where slurring "This place is not home
anymore."
Derek Miller was once a lawyer at a big firm. He did not
make a fortune out of his job but it was enough for us to be
comfortable.
Instead of a big house, my parents decided to buy a small
apartment and focus on travelling the world. Our apartment
was only the place we stayed when I had school to go to
and could not go with them on vacation.
That was all until my mother decided to leave us and my
father started drinking.
At my mother's funeral, one of her friends came up to me
and said that my father just needed time to grieve. I feared
that no time long enough would heal him. Sometimes I
sympathised with him and sometimes I resented him.
It was wrong but sometimes I really did hate him.
My father left for weeks on end. He only came back to pay
the bills and leave some money for me. He also came back
for a duffel bag of clean clothes.
I often wondered where he got the money to pay rent and to
live. It was certainly not from the law firm that had fired him
six months prior.
I changed my tone, so it was harsher when pointing out "You
did not answer my question."
"She made it like that." He uttered quietly.
He was acting like I did not also lose my mother. Like I was
not losing my other parent.
"No." I bit out agitatedly "You did."
Just as I was, he was too dealing with the loss of her. It was
just in a way that meant he was never present. A way that
offered no comfort to me.
I did not want to break again. I had already cried.
Crying was never something I had seen as a weakness. I
cried a lot, but I had never done it in front of people.
My vision became blurry, so I chose to leave my father
where he was and go to the safety of my bedroom.
The wasted white walls greeted me as I closed the door on
my way into my room. I slid the lock on the door into place
securely.
I repeated the action of bolting the door shut three times to
assure myself that I was locked in. It was the only way I
could feel at ease when trying to get to sleep.
The books on my floor were scattered so I tried to put them
in piles to make the room seem half presentable. It offered a
good distraction from the sound of crashing and stumbling
from the other side of the door.
I had learnt the hard way not to try and stop my father when
he wanted to trash the place.
After I changed into my pyjamas, I cosied into my bed with a
Jane Austen book.
It was incredible how books allowed an escape from reality
so easily. One day I could be a pirate or a young eligible
maid. I could live romance through books, and I could cry
with the characters.
I could pretend I was somebody else.
As my eyes started to feel heavy, I fetched my phone from
my nightstand and read the text from my lovestruck friend.
Lana's long paragraph detailed how excited she was to meet
with Brennan again. She also listed everything that could go
wrong with the meeting as her text turned into a panicked
rant.
Texting back a quick few word, it dawned upon me that our
duo could possibly come to an end if Brennan chose to hang
around with us.
I would have to become the third wheel.
What also crossed my mind was if Brennan hung around us
then the big unfriendly leather jacket-wearing giant would
be in the picture too.
I would see him again.
The thought of that brought on a feeling in my lower
stomach. It almost felt like anticipation. I had never felt
anything like it before. I convinced myself that it was
eagerness to only insult him further.
He had insulted my hair, so I cursed him in my mind again
and wished his pillow grew spikes during the night.
 
 
 
 
Chapter Three
The weekend had passed quickly. Too quickly. The two days
had passed in a blur of reading and having three-hour-long
calls with Lana gossiping about her new love interest. I also
spent the two days in my room and hiding from my father.
I studied the depressing looking apartment building as I
leant against the cool metal my car.
To some extent, I was glad school was starting again. I
needed a distraction. I needed something to occupy my
mind.
Lana appeared at the top of the hill on my street. She was
skipping down the sidewalk with a happy and content smile
on her face. Her face was beaming, and her cheeks were
flushed.
At least one of us was in a good mood being forced to wake
up this early in the morning.
"What time do you call this?" I asked her as she neared "It is
never like you to be late. That is my job."
She never needed to answer. The answer to my question
was visible as I looked down at what she was wearing. Lana
was always well dressed but never as extreme as she was
currently. She looked like she had rolled out a magazine.
I wolf-whistled as she strutted the last few steps to my car.
"Did the Kardashian's have a yard sale?" I remarked
sarcastically.
Straightening her skirt, she smiled shyly before explaining
"So I had planned to wear jeans and a t-shirt, but I suddenly
had a change of heart. I opted for a cute, patterned skirt
and an off-the-shoulder top."
The two of us climbed into my small green car before doing
up our seatbelts.
I laughed before teasing “Does this change of heart have to
do with a certain new student?"
"No." She prolonged the word, her voice not nearly
convincing enough to fool me.
"That was a rhetorical question." I smirked while I started up
the car "Of course I know you are dressed like something
out of Zoolander to impress Brennan."
She rolled her eyes as she threw her bag on the floor and
then motioned down to my clothes before voicing “It looks
like you have decided to change things up."
I pulled the car out onto the road, and I pressed down on the
pedal while I stole glanced at the nervous blonde girl next to
me.
Lana then blurted out "He has not texted me today."
"It’s half eight in the morning." I pointed to the radio before
teasing "Give the guy a chance."
Her eyes widened while she let out a sigh "I was going to
show him around school."
"Who cares if he texts anyway?"
"I do, Ella." She whined.
"There is plenty more candy apples in the stall." I joked
before explaining "That’s my version of plenty more fish in
the sea. If you did not click on."
"I got it." She replied before peering out the window at the
passing city.
"The first guy that you are interested in is not going to be
yours forever. Not all great couples end up together." I tried
my best to deliver a pep-talk "Look at Spike and Buffy from
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even though they were both
amazing characters and had great chemistry, they did not
end up together. We can rant all we want on Tumblr but that
is not going to change the fact that Spike is dead."
She looked to be digesting as she stared at me with a
confused expression.
"I can kind of see what you are trying to hint at. In your
weird Ella way." She said with a small laugh "You do not fall
madly in love with the first guy you are attracted to."
"Exactly."
Lana shook her head with a hint of a smile "I don't
understand why you pretend to be so cynical. You are
secretly a bigger romantic than me."
"Who?" I rebutted, acting like I had no clue what she was
talking about "Me?"
"Your whole speech to Brennan's friend about fairytale green
proved that."
I grimaced at the memory while responding with a murmur
"Well it’s fine because I don't plan on speaking to him ever
again."
Her mouth opened like she was about to but then her phone
buzzed. She picked up her phone and whatever was on it
made her smile.
She read the message aloud "Hello, Lovely Lana. We are
nearly at the school. See you there."
"What does he mean by we?" I blurted out in a panic
because that was the only part of the message I paid
attention to "Who else is going to be there?"
"Stone." She uttered sheepishly "He is coming to
Leavendale High too."
I gaped at her for a few seconds before turning back to face
the road.
"Brennan was also shocked." Lana mentioned, studying the
shock on my face "He says that Stone was possessed with
determination to go."
The car stopped as we approached a set of traffic lights. I
took the time to sink into my seat and ran a hand through
my hair in a way to make it look more presentable.
I silently plotted. I was preplanning insults for the large man
in case I needed them.
Lana threw her phone at me and pleaded "You type
something back to him."
"Just text him back saying okay." I teased "Add an emoji to it
if you are feeling brave."
"This is serious!" She exclaimed.
"The time you eventually text back, he will have a new
phone." I deadpanned "Probably an iPhone Thirty-two at this
pace."
Her facial expression gave away that she was unimpressed.
She waited impatiently as I typed a reply to Brennan on her
phone.
My typing took ten seconds, so she started to become
suspicious.
The set of lights turned green, and I handed the phone to
her before focusing on the road again.
"What did you write?" Lana anxiously asked like she was not
sure if she wanted to know or not.
I sent her an evil grin "Check for yourself."
Mortification dawned upon her face as she read the
message.
She gritted out the words that I had written on the text
"Hello, surfer dude. I have been awaiting your text all
morning like a very sad person. The truth is I want to give
you a tour of the school so bad. A tour of the janitor’s closet.
See you soon, Sexy."
Her phone buzzed again, and her face turned to the colour
of a cherry.
She turned the screen around so I could catch a glimpse of
what he had written.
"Look!" Lana exclaimed.
I switched car lanes before laughing my reply "Are you
talking about the message itself or the lack of capital
letters?"
"They are already at school." Lana squealed in her seat "We
need to hurry."
"Who do I look like to you?" I joked to her as I drove slightly
faster "Vin Diesel?"
"Ella." She said my name in warning like she was trying to
scold me.
"Is it too late to stop off for a McDonald's breakfast?" I
questioned while grinning evilly at her.
"Drive, Ella." Her tone went demanding while she continued
to type on her phone.
I put my foot down on the pedal and sped up for the last ten
minutes of the drive until we eventually pulled into the
parking lot of Leavendale High.
We both grabbed our bags and made our way through the
crowded parking lot. We passed the other students who all
looked like zombies as they headed towards the old
fashioned two-storey building.
Lana began waving like a lunatic when she noticed a certain
someone near the entrance of the school.
Only one person stood out to me, and he was leaning his
large self on the wall of the school's main entrance watching
as I approached.
The tall and scary-looking man appeared way older than
eighteen. He was all man, and he did not appear like he
belonged.
Stone was large looking while sitting down but now that I
had seen him standing up, he had brought a whole new
meaning to the word huge.
I had never seen someone as tall as he was before. With his
broad shoulders and his overall well-built body, he appeared
more like a bouncer than a boy.
I did not want to stand next to him. It would only make my
shortness more visible. I was pretty sure I did not even
reach his chest.
Brennan bounced off the wall and walked towards us while
greeting "Hey there, Lovely Lana."
While she greeted him with a hug, I held back a few meters
and watched them. I looked at them to stop myself from
looking at the other person standing there.
"Hi, Ella." Brennan nodded his head in my direction as he
acknowledged me.
He looked like he was going to the beach. He was wearing
denim jeans and a white coloured shirt that was well fitted
across his torso. An outline of a six-pack was visible under
the blue material which my eyes could not help but admire
for a split second.
Both Lana and Brennan made small talk. It was something
about the school, but I was not fully listening to them.
Something else had caught my eye and I knew it was only
so long I could go without meeting his eye.
Stone was studying me and he did not look in any hurry to
stop.
The brutally handsome face was focused down on me. The
nearly black eyes moved, looking from one of my eyes to
the other and back again.
Our gazes deadlocked. We were caught in an intense stare-
off where neither opponent wanted to back down.
The only thing that could have added to the intensity was if
some cowboy showdown music was playing.
He remained silent. He did not break his concentration.
Something told me that he was not going to start the
conversation, so I chose to be the bigger person and act
somewhat civil.
I made my mouth set in a straight line to mirror his
expression while I spoke up “Hello, Lurch."
The corner of the giant's lip turned up.
"Medusa." The deep voice uttered, the hint of a smirk
remaining on his face.
The name caught me off guard. My stomach dropped at the
single word that left his mouth and the gruff way he said it.
I frowned as I placed my hands on my hip and challenged
"Medusa had snakes for hair. I have green hair. Not all
snakes are green. There are albino snakes that are white
and—"
My rambling stopped as soon as I saw that his mouth had
raised further.
It was not a full smirk. It was not even close. It was a small
movement that I had to move closer to get a better look at.
Stone almost appeared pleased with himself that he had
found my kryptonite which was insulting my hair.
All I wanted to do at that moment was wipe that smirk off
his irritatingly attractive face and bash it against the outside
of the school wall.
If I thought that I could have reached his neck then I might
have attempted to throttle him.
"Just remember that Medusa's victims were Stone." I voiced
while shooting him a bored look.
"You going to keep me in your lair forever, Medusa?" He
returned while taking a step closer to me.
"No." I rebutted before thinking quickly on my feet for
something to say, "I would sell you to some old building so
you can guard it like some ugly gargoyle."
His penetrating stare remained bound and determined so I
turned my head to the side before my face had the chance
to turn flustered.
Lana and Brennan were still talking among themselves, so I
tried concentrating on what they had to say.
"You will probably have a lot of competition for my attention.
I am pretty irresistible." Brennan commented gracefully
"Don't worry though. I only have eyes for you."
I snorted at his arrogance.
"You are very sure of yourself, aren't you?" Lana pointed
out.
Brennan glanced between me and Lana while questioning
"You don't think the school will be effected by the arrival of
two good looking guys?"
I scoffed before meeting the eye of the large man and
deadpanning "Where is the other good-looking guy then?"
Stone grumbled something under his breath. The guttural
noise carried shook his chest a little.
The noise reminded me exactly why I decided to call him
Lurch.
He cocked his head while never taking his eyes off me. The
gesture was full of disbelief like he was challenging me to lie
further.
"What are you trying to imply?" I spoke up when I noticed
that he was not going to.
The giant glanced down at my arms that were crossed over
my chest before meeting my gaze again. Nothing left his
mouth as he continued to watch me in silence.
I sent him a fake smile before feeling the need to clarify to
him "I find you as hot as a lake found in the North Pole."
His head remained cocked to the side and an amused look
lit up the obsidian colour of his irises.
Lana coughed before I could lie further, and she tried to
change the subject "Do you two have your timetables?"
"Stone went and got it." Brennan told her.
I could not help myself. I turned my body back towards the
large man and spoke again.
"Did old Mrs Robinson at the school office understand your
grunting?" I challenged before humming "She probably did.
Her husband is ninety, so he probably makes the same
noises as you do."
I should have just stopped talking but I had caught a bad
case of word diarrhoea.
Stone did not laugh. The only indication that he found the
comment slightly funny was the corner of his lip hiking up
and the movement in his jaw.
The mountain of a man took a step closer and lessened the
space between us.
He was wearing a black shirt with dark jeans which was
topped off with his leather jacket. The clothes were tight
fitted against his bulging muscles.
His eyes widened slightly as he stopped a metre or so in
front of me. He peered down and his eyebrows furrowed
when he noticed the ridiculously large height difference
between us.
I was at eye level with his stomach.
Lana spoke up again "Should we show you both around
now?"
I faced her and nodded before discreetly moving away from
the giant so that I felt a little more taller.
Brennan's sights were set on the school building when he
answered back "Lead the way."
Lana never moved because was too busy staring at
Brennan, so I took it upon myself to move first. I walked
through the double doors and into the hallway and the three
of them follow behind shortly after.
Stone was the one quickest to follow. He lingered closely
behind me and matched my pace as we entered the
building.
The hallway of the school was a time capsule because it had
not been decorated since Nixon was the president. The
lockers were a mustard colour and a dusty banner hung
from the ceiling advertising the spring fling even though it
was August.
I glanced back at the other three, but I did not stop walking.
I had a genuine fear that I would be trampled over by the
giant if I suddenly came to a halt.
He was walking so close behind me that it felt like I had
developed a second shadow.
"Hello Brennan and Lurch." I called over my shoulder to
break the silence "Welcome to your very own personal
Leavendale High tour. I'm Ella and I'll be your tour guide."
Brennan turned to Lana and asked, "What is happening?"
I shushed him "Please keep all questions until the end of the
tour. Thank you."
The three of them trailed behind me as I walked further
down the corridor. The further we went, the more apparent
it became that being a tour guide was not in my future.
"If you look to your left, you will see lockers." I announced
while waving my hand to the side and then I switched arms
before adding "If you look to your right, you will see more
lockers."
Lana sighed at my theatrics before she addressed the other
two "Do you guys have your locker numbers?"
"Mine is a hundred and seven." Brennan answered, "Stone's
is a hundred and twelve."
It took half a second to realise that my locker was number a
hundred and fourteen.
His locker was way too close to mine for comfort. I did not
want a cocky remark or a mythology-inspired insult every
school day of the year.
Stone had not spoken a word since entering the school. His
striking obsidian gaze just narrowed in on me like an animal
eyeing up its dinner.
I walked faster and he did too. I then slowed down and he
did too.
A chill shot up my spine like a bolt of electricity. It warmed
the whole of my body like a blanket of security.
I slowly came to a stop when we neared the correct set of
lockers. I turned around and then looked up at him, my neck
straining as I lifted my chin.
"Do you speak?" I questioned up to the silent man.
He directed his head downwards so that he could lean
further towards my body and tower over me.
"When I want to." His deep voice was gruff and hoarse like
he was not used to stringing a sentence together.
The faintest hint of black stubble covered his harsh jawline.
His dark hair was parted to the side in a tousled way and a
strand had fallen onto his forehead.
I narrowed my eyes up at him while declaring "My plan is to
avoid you forevermore."
A guttural noise that sounded like it had come from a deep
dark cave escaped him as he uttered "You are breaking my
heart."
Someone overhearing the conversation might have believed
his words if it were not for his emotionless face.
I was in a fight or flight mode, and I so happened to have
picked fight.
"Do you even have a heart?" I countered back while eyeing
him up and down as I shortened the distance between us
"Perhaps you do. Maybe it is just hidden deep in that big
steroid infested body."
Everything about this man made me nervous and it was not
just because he was the most intimidating being I had ever
seen.
My bones felt weak, and my knees felt like jelly. My body felt
like it was burning and being obliterated. My whole nerve
system had shut down and refused to let me move.
"It is all real muscle, Medusa." He rasped out, the deep
voice an almost grunt "Do you want a feel?"
I blinked up at him.
I hated making eye contact with people. I always had since I
was a little girl, but I had learned how to do it, so I did not
seem overly rude.
The obsidian gaze currently heating up my face gave me no
choice but to make eye contact with him. The gaze was
demanding and domineering.
I eventually turned my head to the side before giving him a
side glare while I murmured "My plan is definitely to avoid
you forevermore."
Stone chuckled once while his eyes set on the green hair
that ended just above my belly button.
"I will buy a sombrero." I gritted out through clenched teeth.
His warm breath hit my cheek as I continued to act
nonplussed while he leaned further over me.
"I'd noticed you anywhere." The gruff voice grunted lowly.
I looked up at him again and tilted my head at his comment.
A few seconds later and the same rough sounding noise
escaped his chest as he added to his previous statement
"Might need a magnifying glass."
I was four foot eleven, but I rounded that up to five foot two
when people asked.
"I am not small!" I erupted, subconsciously standing on my
toes to appear taller and to wiggle my finger closer to his
face "You are just abnormally large!"
Lana and Brennan fell into a fit of laughter and it suddenly
reminded me that they were still standing there.
My lips parted and I let out a sigh before taking a step away
from his entrapping gaze.
"Both of your lockers are near Lana's." I voiced to both guys,
but I only looked at Brennan "She can show you the way. I'm
off to homeroom."
"But your locker is right next to mine—" She began but
stopped when she noticed my glare.
Brennan laughed at my attempt at a getaway before
pointing out "That was a quick tour."
I shrugged before turning to go "I am not getting paid."
A deep voice stopped me before I could leave.
"Where are you going, Medusa?" Stone grumbled out
demandingly.
I swivelled on my heel and faced him with a sigh, fighting
the urge to flip him off "I am going to class, Lurch."
His scowl deepened and his eyes darkened while his large
hands twitched into fists at his sides.
I walked away from them, stealing once glance over my
shoulder back at the pair of dark irises following me down
the hall.
I prayed to every god and every school schedule maker that
the giant would not end up in one of my classes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Four
It was the period before lunch, and I was glad. One of the
reasons was because I was starving and the other was
because my next class was English.
English was my favourite class with my favourite teacher.
Lana was also in that class with me, and I was eager to hear
more about her loverboy. I had not seen her since the
encounter at the lockers. I had also yet to run into the two
newcomers.
I turned the corner into the English block and hurried to
pass the classrooms until I arrived at mine. The door was
open and many of my classmates were already inside.
As soon as I stepped inside the classroom, my eccentric
English teacher was there waiting to greet me.
"Hello, Ella!" The best teacher in the world stood up from his
desk and spoke in his gleeful voice.
Mr Dankworth was a sixty-year-old man who loved books
more than anything. The way he behaved made him seem
more fitting for a librarian at a mental institute rather than a
teacher. His passion and craziness for literature was the
thing that had drawn me to him.
We were kindred spirits in a way. Through our shared love of
books and cult classic films, we had grown a friendship over
the years.
"Hi, Mr Dankworth." I replied, grinning back at the old man.
"I hope you had a great summer break." He delivered
hopefully before questioning "Did you get time to read War
and Peace?"
On the last day of term, he had given me the book by
Tolstoy to read over the vacation. If he enjoyed a book, then
he always gave it to me straight after so he could get my
opinion on it too.
"It had a slow start but I kept powering on. It picked up pace
in the middle and I could not put it down." I gave him my
honest review "I finished it in under two days."
Mr Dankworth looked shocked. His bushy white eyebrows
almost hit his receding hairline.
"The book is one thousand and two hundred pages long." He
pointed out and then praised "I have to say I'm impressed."
More people rushed their way into the classroom while Mr
Dankworth opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a
book. He handed the large book to me and encouraged me
to take it.
I looked at the title that was not familiar to me. I trusted his
judgement entirely so I would read it straight away.
"Thank you, Mr Dankworth."
The old English teacher smiled but he was not looking at
me. He appeared to be watching over my shoulder.
"Do you know the new students?" He questioned, curiosity
in his tone.
His words made me turn around and face the rest of the
room. Most of the class had taken their seats at their desks.
I scanned the room until I found Lana who had saved us
both a seat. Her back was to me and she was facing the two
new additions to the school.
The giant man whose attention was fixed on the front of the
class was at the desk behind my own.
Stone would be sitting behind me for the rest of the year.
Turning my head back to Mr Dankworth, I asked confusedly.
"Why would you think that?"
"The large gentleman in the black is looking at you." He told
me while moving his brows suggestively.
"I insulted him." I answered before adding to the statement
"I think he wants to kill me."
Mr Dankworth hummed before replying "Please tell him to
wait until after class. It would be a lot of paperwork for
myself to fill out of he did not restrain himself."
A laugh bubbled from my chest as I rotated on my heel and
headed in the direction of my seat.
While I walked down the middle aisle between desks, I
placed the book I was given in my bag which added a
significant amount of weight onto my shoulder. I had very
little muscles so I feared the weight of my back would result
in me looking like The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I sat down on the seat without looking behind me as I did so.
I got out my English folder and pen and attempted to ignore
the heat on my neck caused by a pair of dark eyes.
"Hello again, Ella." Brennan voice from his seat diagonal and
behind mine "This must be fate."
"I would not exactly call being in the same English class
fate." I returned, continuing to look to the front of the class.
A steady beat was present from the desk behind mine.
Stone tapped his pen on the desk loudly and repetitively like
he was trying to draw attention to himself.
The noise made me turn in my seat.
Stone spoke up, his gravelly voice low like he only wanted
me to hear his words "Then what do you call us being in the
same class together?"
"A class with you, Lurch?" I answered him with a deadpan
tone "There is only one thing that is. A nightmare."
Brennan tipped his head back and laughed. His amusement
did not dull down as he nudged the man next to him with his
elbow.
The giant reciprocated his taunt by sending him a scowl that
belonged to a stone-cold killer
My pun was intended.
Everything happened so quickly. The nearly black eyes
rapidly moved back to me like they had not even budged in
the first place.
"You are a funny little one, Medusa."
The rough gravelly sound of his voice curled around the
single word. It was as if he was claiming the words for
himself. His voice was commanding like he was enforcing
himself to be heard.
"Call me that again and you will get a little kick to the balls."
I threatened while sending him a smile that was not at all
genuine.
His eyes were on my mouth. The colour of his irises
darkened when he watched the smile slowly disappear from
my face.
My threat was not at all logistic. My leg would not be able to
kick that high.
"The book I have in my bag is over eight-hundred pages and
it is hardback." I threatened while keeping my glare on him
"I will knock you out with it."
He never replied but his top lip did twitch after the words
left my mouth.
Mr Dankworth started the class before I could say anymore.
"Hello class! How was your summer break?" The English
teacher spoke from the front of the room "As much as I've
missed everyone, I am distraught that I can no longer spend
all day reading."
Lana giggled from beside me "He is literally the male older
version of you."
"No way." I turned and whispered to her "If he was forty
years younger then he would be the perfect man for me."
"Try a hundred years younger." She joked back "He looks
two minutes from death's door."
Mr Dankworth stood proudly in his purple waistcoat and
bright orange trousers at the projector when he asked, “Did
anyone read anything interesting in the holidays?"
A familiar male voice answered from the middle of the
classroom. The voice from where the jocks would typically
be found.
Chase leant back in his chair as he announced "I read a
book called How to Stop Being So Appealing To The Ladies.
It wasn't a very useful read because they are still over me."
All his friends laughed around him and praised him like he
had delivered some kind of great joke.
In my opinion, Chase should not consider stand-up comedy
for a living.
The English teacher faked a thinking face before responding
"I don't think I've heard of that book, Mr Andrews."
I bit my tongue, but it failed miserably.
"That is because he forgot For Dummies at the end of the
title." I called out.
The whole class erupted into laughter.
Even the teacher sent a nod of appreciation my way.
Chase's friends were laughing too and I could not help but
be pleased with myself.
Chase turned in his chair and sent the combination of a
sneer and wink my way "You are lucky you are hot, babe."
A low, deep rumble sounded from behind me.
I ignored it and replied to the quarterback with a bitter tone
"You are lucky you are far away from me, babe."
Mr Dankworth continued with the lesson, and everyone
resumed focusing on the front excluding a few who were too
busy trying to catch a glimpse of the two new students who
might as well have been fresh meat.
Brennan leaned forward in his seat and poked both Lana
and me with his pen.
"Chase?" Brennan inquired before glancing my way "As in
the guy you were on a date with at the pier?"
I stayed quiet and Lana nodded.
Amusement filled Brennan's words as he let out a single
laugh "No wonder you left him to come meet us."
A dark rough noise came from behind me again.
Slowly and with caution, I adjusted myself in my seat so that
I could see why it sounded as if a mountain lion or some
other predatory animal had appeared at the back of my
English class.
I turned and raised my eyebrow at Stone questioningly,
wondering why he was making the deep rumbling noise.
Stone stopped his anger-filled sounds as soon as my eyes
met his. His scowl stayed intact but his eyes appeared a lot
lighter.
Lana leant to the side towards me and whispered, "Why do
you still go out with that douchebag?"
"Chase is usually nice when we are alone." I told her quietly
"I also need to keep him on side because he still has my
panda."
Another noise came from behind me. It was not a growl but
instead it was the sound of paper being crushed.
For what felt like the hundredth time in two minutes, I
turned in my chair and faced the giant who was currently
ripping twenty pages of paper at a time out of a perfectly
good notebook.
I flickered my gaze between the murderous male and the
bunches of paper being destroyed by the veiny skull-
tattooed hand belonging to him.
"Trees did not give their lives for you to start ripping out
paper like an origami fanatic on crack." I informed him.
He stopped ripping the paper, but his dinner-plate sized
hands remained balled into tight fists.
Brennan spoke up while shooting a nervous glance towards
his oversized friend "You have horrible taste in guys."
Lana butted in and agreed with her loverboy "You do have
terrible taste in guys."
"So do you." I replied, insulting her and Brennan in one-go.
Mr Dankworth called out enthusiastically from the front of
the class, earning everybody's attention.
"I bet you are wondering what fun assignment I have
planned for you. You need not wait any longer to know." The
English teacher rambled out quickly like he could barely
contain his excitement "Your first essay will be a personal
and Shakespeare one combined. You must write about a
character in a Shakespeare play that you relate to."
I enjoyed English a lot and as depressing as it sounded, I
enjoyed getting assignments. The Shakespearean theme
just added to my excitement. I had pretty much read every
single play by him, so I had many ideas of what I wanted to
do for my essay.
"Fun assignment?" Lana cried, showing her contrasting view
of the assigned work "I would rather stick pins in my eyes."
Smiling at her amusingly, I tried to be supportive while
assuring "You are a songwriter. Just imagine you are putting
your thoughts into a Shakespearian song."
"That is what I did last time, and I got a C." She huffed "You
better help me with my essay. I'm a lost cause without you."
I would eventually help her, but I still had to taunt her.
"One day you will have to do this without me." I hummed "In
college, you will have to write essays about music. You will
have to start learning to do it for yourself."
"That is not fair." Lana cried, throwing her pen at her
notebook.
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy
air." I quoted dramatically, knowing she hated when I
quoted classical literature.
The teacher continued with listing the details of the
assignment "It must be a thousand words long and it is due
a week from today."
"I thought he was meant to be a nice teacher." Lana
exclaimed; her words muffled because of her face being
planted on the desk "I feel like crying. This is hell."
"There, there." I patted her head and comforted her before I
hit her with another Shakespeare quote "Hell is empty. All
the devils are here."
Her head popped up from the desk and she narrowed her
eyes while rebutting "Can one thy shut up?"
The two males at the desk behind us chuckled at our
interaction. They had been eavesdropping on the whole
conversation.
My neck grew goosebumps as the owner of the deeper and
raspier voice moved closer.
"Are you always this nerdy, Medusa?" Stone asked, his deep
spoken words filled with taunt.
"My name is Ella. E-l-l-a." I emphasised my words while
biting them out, but I never gave him the satisfaction of
turning around again as I spoke "If you cannot make sense
of that then you are in the wrong English class. I would
happily escort you to the nearest preschool."
He had moved closer towards me. The sound of his chair
creaking and the increasing goosebumps on my skin were
evidence of that.
"You will not get rid of me that easily." He grumbled under
his breath.
The lesson continued. I hardly paid attention. I was too busy
looking around the class at the curious spectators who were
whispering. All the twenty or so pair of eyes of my
classmates were on the two new males.
Most girls were stealing glances and giggling at the sight of
fresh new meat which made me roll my eyes.
From listening to the whispers and the hushed
conversations, it was easy to conclude that every person in
the room feared the man seated behind me.
In the middle of the room where the jocks were also talking
about the newcomers, Chase was staring in my direction.
The quarterback met my gaze and frowned before mouthing
"Are you friends with them?"
I shrugged and ignored the tingling sensation that tickled
my neck.
Lana was speaking to Brennan, and I pretended I was
listening to them instead of what I was really doing.
I pretended to look down at my notebook while I turned to
the side and watched the grouchy and mean-looking face in
my peripheral vision.
Stone had a clenched jaw and a look of thunderous fury on
his face.
Mr Dankworth began showing the class a slideshow of
different literary techniques and it made me think about
how weird it was that he never got the two newcomers to
stand up and introduce themselves.
It was so unlike the English teacher as he always had a keen
interest in knowing his students. However, he never asked
them anything. It was like he already knew who they were.
I could understand why the English teacher never got Stone
to stand up and talk about himself. His demeanour was not
something for a friendly introduction to the class.
His glare and scowl were so terrifying that it was kind of
impressive. I entertained the idea of sticking horns on him
and keeping him for Halloween to scare away the trick or
treaters.
Other girls in the class quietly giggled and it was obvious
they found him impressive too.
He was scary and intimidating but he was not ugly. He was
the furthest thing from it, unfortunately.
Chase stuck his hand up in the air and everyone in the room
turned to look at the middle of the room.
"Yes, Mr Andrews?" Mr Dankworth drawled out his word like
he was dreading what came next.
"Can I share some poetry with the class?" Chase queried
innocently.
The English teacher let out a sigh “We are not doing poetry
but go ahead."
Chase placed his foot on the desk with a thud and pointed
towards it before clearing his throat and uttering "Just like
my leg is wrapped up in this sock, soon Ella behind me will
be wrapped around my—"
Mr Dankworth stopped him before he could go any further
"That is enough."
I was mortified as the class started laughing.
He had never done anything like that before. He had never
pulled a stunt like that before.
I wondered why Chase had chosen specifically today to start
suggesting to everyone that we were sleeping together.
More sounds of angry paper ripping started to fill my ears.
Along with a series of grumbles and murderous growls.
Growl was the only way I could describe the noise that was
so deep and rough but perhaps I was exaggerating due to
my sensory sensitivity.
As I listened, I found it somewhat extraordinary the number
of sheets he was destroying at a time. He had destroyed his
notebook and Brennan's in a matter of seconds.
"Ella, I’m turning around to face my computer." My favourite
teacher told me as he faced away from everyone "You may
go and slap Mr Andrews."
The paper shredding came to a stop. Then deep gnarls
escaping the hollow-sounding chest filled the silence.
Brennan was the one to speak up next "Where did you find
that asshole, Ella?"
"A poetry reading." I deadpanned to lighten the mood.
The bell signalling the end of the period and the start of
lunch rang out. The noise was loud but not loud enough that
it overpowered the dark vicious sounds that came from
behind me.
Mr Dankworth raised his arms to stop everyone from moving
out of their seats while he announced, "Why did
Shakespeare write using quills?"
Nobody answered as I packed up my bag and got ready to
leave.
"Because he got confused with pencils." The old man
delivered after a dramatic pause "Two-B or not Two-B."
"He is the perfect man." I remarked to Lana as we both
stood up from our seats "He is my soulmate."
Another guttural noise that I had gotten familiar with
happened again.
I stopped walking towards the door of the class. I turned
around and tilted my chin up to the man following closely
behind me.
"What are you grumbling at now?" I sassed, putting my
hands on my hips and standing on my toes to grow closer to
his face.
"What fucker do you think is your soulmate?" He grumbled
again.
His voice was deeper. Even smokier and deadlier like he was
restraining himself from something.
"The man who is my kindred spirit and loves classical
literature." I replied, biting my lip to hold back my laugh.
Stone appeared more pissed. His dark eyes grew blacker in
hue as they flicked over my face.
"Mr Dankworth is my soulmate." I told him with a wink "My
one true love."
The round wide shoulders belonging to him relaxed but only
slightly.
The four of us walked down the hallway and through the
English block into the science corridor. Lana grabbed my
arm and pulled me further ahead so that a few people from
the busy crowd were between us and the two new students.
"He is so freaking scary." Lana whispered with widened eyes
and a small, amused smile.
I did not need to ask who she was speaking about.
"Yeah." I agreed "He is."
Her curious voice grew even more hushed when she
questioned "What is up with you and Stone?"
"I'm sorry." I told her genuinely even tough my tone was
sharper than the blade of a butcher’s knife "I know that you
were really excited about Brennan coming here but his
friend gets me fired up."
She let out a small laugh.
"Can you believe what he said about my hair and height?" I
mumbled, getting fired up even thinking about him.
"It is not like you did not hold your own." She pointed out,
her tone turning playful "He seems to enjoy teasing you.
The only time I have heard him speak is when he is
speaking to you."
"What do you mean?"
"He never spoke after you left this morning for homeroom."
Lana replied, glancing over her shoulder as she did so "I
tried asking him something to be friendly and he ignored
me. A few girls said hello to him, and he glared at them until
they went away."
I burst out laughing as the image of an army of people
running away from the large man made its way into my
mind.
"It was terrifying." Lana added to the story.
"You should have just called him Lurch like I did." I said to
her "That seemed to get him to talk."
Lana made a face like the very thought was unthinkable as
she affirmed "Not everyone has a death wish like you."
I glanced over my shoulder and what I saw made me bite
my lip from smiling again.
Stone did not have to move around to make his way through
the swarm of people. He was large enough that everyone
just moved out of his way automatically.
He had not seemed to have noticed that everyone was
taking one look at him and moving out of his way. Some
people were even fleeing. He appeared used to the looks of
terror.
"The other periods leading up to English have gone too slow.
I have learned nothing today except Oxygen has a valency
of two and that Napoleon was once attacked by a bunch of
bunnies." Lana complained as we turned into the lunch hall
"The latter I learned from you."
As expected from a cliche high school everyone had their
set tables. There were not any specific labels to the groups
apart from the large huddle of footballer jocks at one big
table.
Chase was sitting on the table and all his friends were
watching him down a glass of milk with a slice of pizza in it.
I gagged before looking away from him
Brennan scooted in the space between Lana and I before he
put his arm around the blonde girl and asked, "So are we
allowed to sit at your table?"
Lana let out a nervous giggle "Of course you are."
"Ella?" Brennan asked hopefully while glancing behind me.
"Unless you want to sit on the floor." I teased in the nicest
way I knew how to discreetly say yes.
"You know what, Ella." Brennan never removed his arm off
Lana as he spoke to me "I think we might become good
friends."
We reached our normal table which was situated at the very
back of the lunch hall. Brennan took Lana's hand and made
her sit next to him while Stone sat at the bench on the
opposite side of the table.
Everyone was seated except me. I stood up with my arms
crossed while glaring at the large body I was expected to sit
next to.
My new lunch buddy Lurch was occupying the whole space
at the bench and I knew it was going to be a tight squeeze.
"So, I'm guessing I have to sit next to you?" I let out an
exaggerated sigh before uttering "Lucky me."
Stone's gruff voice remained deep and monotonous when
he challenged "Unless you want to sit on my lap."
I blinked twice.
"I would rather sit on an electric chair." I spluttered out.
My feet done a nervous shuffle on the floor when I noticed
that he was at eye level with me when he was sitting down,
and I was standing up.
I lifted one leg over the bench and then the other as I took
my place next to him.
He claimed the space of the bench we shared. His large
thick biceps were touching the side of my face. His knees
were hitting the bottom of table and the side of his right leg
was touching my left.
I figured that he was uncomfortable, so I slid to the edge of
the bench to give him more space.
His response was to relax his legs further until his leg was
touching mine again.
Brennan looked shocked yet amused at the scene unfolding
as he watched us from the opposite side of the table.
"Ella, don't take notice about the lack of emotion in Stone's
voice. The fact that he is talking to someone at all is a
rarity." Brennan told me matter of factly "He must like you."
I glanced at Stone before pointing out "He must really like
making fun of me."
"He does not go around asking girls to sit on his lap."
Brennan replied with a haughty grin.
A wave of surprise hit me, and I glanced again at the owner
of the large body occupying the whole space at the table.
Stone never spoke. He just continued to watch me in
silence.
"No wonder. They would probably run for the hills." I finally
managed to overcome my surprise and force words out of
my mouth "His whole aura does not exactly scream
shopping mall Santa."
The corner of Stone's mouth twitched upwards while his
study on my face never withered.
To avoid his smirking, I opened my school bag and stuffed
my head inside it so that I could find my lunch.
My eyes landed on the food I had brought from home, and I
let out a small cry.
"Is everything okay?" Lana called.
I pulled my head out of my bag and ignored the hair
covering my face as I complained "I usually have chemistry
before lunch. I had it almost every day before lunch last
year. My teacher used to let me use the kettle to boil my
noodles."
"Your teacher let you make your lunch in class?" Brennan
questioned in disbelief.
I nodded my head and placed my un-boiled pot of noodles
on the graffitied table.
"I could just go and put some hot water from the bathroom
in it. It might taste a little like a sewage rat though." I
rambled on while my stomach started to churn uneasily "Or
I could just eat it raw and crunchy."
Lana's nose wrinkled in disgust at my words before she
softened her face and asked lightly "Did you not bring any
money?"
"No. That was the point in my noodle cup." I purposely left
out my father and our lack of income as an explanation "It
saves me money."
My Dad left a hundred dollars a month for the food
shopping. It seemed a lot of money on paper, but it was not
in practise. I had been living off toast and jam for the past
week.
"Here." Lana insisted, taking out her sandwich and splitting
it in half "Take this."
I smiled at her gesture, but I shook my head anyway.
"I'm not taking your lunch. That is all you have." I told her
sternly before assuring "It is fine. I'll just have something
when I get home."
Brennan removed his arm from the back of Lana's chair as
he stood up and announced "I'm going to get something
from the cafeteria. Do you two want anything?"
Lana shook her head.
"No, thank you." I politely declined before informed him of
our lovely lunch hall "Now it is time for the briefing. Do not
buy milk because it is out of date. Do not buy any fruit
because the flies from the kitchen live there. Do not buy the
custard because I found a bee in it once. Line up for food
and do not push because Dinner Lady Mary will kill you and
put you in a pie if you do."
Brennan eyes widened and he appeared completely weirded
out when he uttered "What?"
I shrugged while declaring "She is like Sweeney Todd
without the barber shop."
The bench underneath me creaked as Stone stood up and
followed Brennan to the lunch line.
My whole left side went cold at the loss of contact.
When Lana turned her head and saw that the two of them
were in the lunch line, she leaned over at the table towards
me and whispered "So?"
I sent her a puzzled look before suggesting "So…?"
"Do you think Brennan likes me?" She questioned with a
hopeful smile "I know it's early days, but he is sitting with
us."
"Of course, he likes you. You two are sickeningly sweet." I
felt the need to assure her before I made a joke "I have only
known him a day but I can tell he has a horrible taste in girls
so you should be fine."
She broke a piece of her sandwich off and threw it at me. It
did not touch me. It instead landed on the person behind
me's head as I ducked in time to dodge it.
A few minutes later and the two new students returned with
food. They came back with enough to feed a small village.
I peered between the two trays and seen every food served
by the cafeteria on their plates.
I did not realise I was drooling over the fries until Brennan
offered one out to me. I reached to take it from his hand, but
he pulled it away and laughed at me. I frowned and glared
at him until he gave it back.
"How can you manage to eat all of that?" I queried, trying to
keep the impressiveness in my tone at a minimum "I have a
massive appetite and I would struggle to finish a quarter of
the food on your plate."
Brennan chuckled before informing "We are big guys, Ella."
"Yeah." I replied absentmindedly while peering at the giant
next to me's arms and torso and his overall body "I noticed
that."
My attention was still on the bulky arm at the side of my
head when it moved to grab a plate of sweet chilli chicken
and noodles from the lunch tray.
Stone set the plate of noodles in front of me.
I quickly looked up at him and tilted my head in confusion.
The large veiny hand belonging to Stone nudged the plate
so that it was closer in front of me.
"For me?" I asked him, my voice struck with confusion.
His head cocked to the side and his obsidian eyes remained
on my expression when he nudged the plate further towards
me.
The smell of the food was mouth-watering, but I managed to
retrain myself
I sent him a small grateful smile before I shook my head "I
can't accept this."
"Eat." Stone growled.
"That means I owe you, Lurch." I pointed out the obvious
while I began to move the plate back towards him.
"Eat, Medusa." He growled again, grabbing the plate and
placing it in front of me.
Stone handed me a fork and stared at me. He did not move.
He just waited for me to take the first bite.
I took the fork and motioned it towards him "I will pay you
back tomorrow."
He scowled and grunted "No."
"Yes." I argued, trying to match his demanding gruff voice
but failing.
"No."
The gesture had started to change my opinion on him. I
thought to myself that maybe he wasn't so bad.
"The food will shut you up for a couple of minutes." The
gravelly voice of the man next to me uttered lowly.
I had understood him right on first impression because he
was that bad.
"You do know that I am purposefully going to talk nonstop
from now on." I shot him a wicked grin "Just to annoy you."
His reply was not what I expected. He did not frown or
grumble but instead, his lip twitched upwards again. It
twitched higher than I had seen it go before.
I picked up some of the noodles on my fork before sucking
one up into my mouth.
My eyes widened because I was not expecting such a good
taste for a cafeteria meal. The noodles were soft, and the
sauce melted on my tongue.
It was so amazing that I had let out a small moan.
The leg against mine stiffened and the wide shoulders
belonging to him stilled.
Stone stopped moving completely.
"Do not do that." He grunted out like it was too painful to
talk.
I raised an eyebrow at him before I took another bite of the
chicken and noodles. I closed my eyes and moaned again
except I made it louder and longer.
His eyes darkened and a string of curses left his mouth as
he looked away from me for what felt like the first time
since the beginning of lunch.
The other two were too busy with their conversation to
notice our side of the table.
Lana asked the person next to her "Which Shakespeare
character are you doing for your essay?"
Brennan finished eating his mouthful before answering her
"I don't really know. Have you got any ideas?"
She gave him a helpless shrug "I don't know my Macbeth's
from my Hamlet's."
"Romeo and Juliet are the perfect characters for you. Minus
the family drama and more of the cheeky one liners from
Romeo and it is pretty much you two." I intervened by
interrupting them "Also, hopefully the dying part can get left
out."
"Who are you writing about?" Lana turned so she should
direct her question to me.
"I have a few ideas on interesting characters." I claimed, "I
just don't know which ones are like me."
A rough husky voice spoke from next to me "Puck."
I sat still for a few seconds in shock. I was in shock that
Stone had spoken and that he had Shakespeare knowledge.
Titling my head towards him, I challenged "Why do you
think I'm like Puck?"
"Mischievous and meddling." He answered with a grumble
after a few moments of silence "You are also tiny."
"Meddling? I am not meddling!" I blurted out.
Lana sent me a look that gave away she agreed with the
giant's statement.
I angrily stabbed my sweet chilli chicken and imagined it
was his face.
He had only known me five minutes and he seemed to think
he was an expert.
Brennan quietly murmured to Lana "Do you know what they
are talking about?"
She shook her head.
The table was too busy talking about the English
assignment that we failed to notice Chase standing at the
side of the table.
I looked up to find the quarterback with his arms crossed
and his glare switching between the two guys sitting down.
I had not forgotten what he said in class, but I did not want
to speak about it in front of everyone. Especially in front of
the one next to me who looked ready to rip the
quarterback's head off.
Stone appeared like he was seconds away from going on a
murdering spree. His whole body had tensed. His veins
bulged in his hand as he made fists, and his jaw was ticking
rapidly.
Nobody welcomed him so I decided to cut the tension by
speaking up "Hi, Chase."
"Do you want to go out tonight?" He sent the question my
way with a glance in my direction before he eyed the two
men sitting at the table.
"I'm going to Lana's house." I replied truthfully before
adding "Maybe some other time."
"Can you not cancel?" Chase suggested.
"No." I bit out sternly "I am not going to cancel plans with
my best friend."
"Why not?"
I had seen the quarterback and his friend interact, so I knew
there was no point going into detail about the laws of
friendship.
"Her Mom is making macaroni and it is the best food ever.
Italian restaurants have nothing on Lana's mother's
macaroni cheese." I declared, "The food trumps everything
you are willing to offer."
"I can offer you anything you want, babe." Chase winked
with his innuendo.
I felt the whole of my body vibrate as I felt the large chest
adjacent to my left side shake violently.
"It is a hard pass." I sarcastically remarked.
"Is this about my poetry?" Chase questioned with no guilt
present on his features "It was just a joke with the boys. I
didn't even get to finish it."
"What do you mean finish it?" I raised my voice in
annoyance "It does not take sparknotes to figure out what
you were going to say next."
Brennan seemed entertained by Chase's arrival. His
amusement drained however when he saw the reaction of
his friend.
Stone looked anything but entertained.
If looks could kill, then Chase would be long gone.
He would be buried six feet under and had his grave pissed
on by Stone.
I took a bite of chicken and looked down at my plate to
ignore the scowl I was being sent from the man pressed up
at my side.
Chase finally took the hint and left to go back to his lunch
table.
"Lana's Mom's macaroni is better than sex with Chase?"
Brennan remarked with a chuckle "Ouch."
The fists rested on the table caught my attention. Fists as in
plural. Both of Stone's huge hands were clenched so hard
that his knuckles turned white, and his veins bulged out in a
rhythm.
I glanced at his murderous expression and wondered if he
slept with a scowl on his face.
"I'm not sleeping with him." I pointed out before adding
"Although, Lana's mother's macaroni is better than
anything. That probably includes sex."
The large bulky chest next to me stopped shaking.
"Please don't ever say my mom and sex in the same
sentence again." Lana said as she pretended to shiver "Like
ever."
We all laughed and even Stone looked a little happier.
Happy was probably an overstatement but he was no longer
scowling.
It came as a surprise that Chase did not try and recruit the
massive man made out of muscle for the football team.
Stone would knock everyone and everything out in his path.
He had the most intimidating body I had ever seen and that
included wrestlers and weightlifters I had seen on the
television.
Lana and Brennan were talking among themselves as I
stood up and grabbed my bag from under the table.
"Where are you going?" Lana voiced in confusion.
"I have to run to my locker for my stuff for next period." I
explained to her while ignoring the pair of dark eyes
following me as I moved away from the bench "I will see you
after school."
The corridors were empty as I drifted through them to my
locker. I didn't desperately need to get my folders, but I
wanted to give the couple some time alone.
I also wanted a minute away from the heat that came with
being pressed up against a certain someone.
Tidying up the small compartment of my locker, I
rearranged my folders into alphabetic order and placed the
book Mr Dankworth gave me with the others I had stored.
I then noticed a large veiny hand rested on the locker beside
mine.
A few breaths later and I slowly turned around to face the
person lingering behind me.
Stone had taken his jacket off. His black short-sleeved shirt
showed off his arm muscles that were covered in black ink.
Both of his ponderous arms were sleeves of tattoos. Thickly
heavy lines covered all of his visible skin which included
bottom of his neck and start of his chest
There was no way this man was high-school aged.
I stared at his stomach and grew a weird wish to know if his
whole body was covered in tattoos.
He remained stood in front of me with one hand on the
locker beside my head. His other hand was by his side but I
felt entrapped by his gaze, so I did not move.
I tilted my chin and looked up at him when I realised, I had
spent a good while staring at his tattoos.
"Are you always going to be lurking around?" I asked,
meeting his eye.
His chest grew closer to my face as he neared closer and
bent down so my body was within inches of his.
I put my hands together and twiddled my thumbs as I
continued to meet his eye.
"I am just so lucky." I remarked humourlessly "Out of two
thousand or so lockers, you just had to get the one that's
two away from mine."
The corner of his mouth hiked up a millimetre.
I leaned on my toes and stretched up to observe his
minuscule hint of a smile closer. I also rose in my toes to
appear taller and stronger.
"Must be the green hair that gives you all of that luck." He
grumbled, his expression remaining unreadable.
"What is your obsession with my hair?" I raised further on
my toes while I gritted out the question.
He never answered. He only cocked his head and studied
my angry pout and my narrowed eyes.
"I don't point out the colour of your hair." I rebutted because
I could not think of anything else to say.
His head cocked further to the side and his emotionless
rumble of a voice had a hint of amusement in it as he
probed "What is the colour of my hair?"
Stone's hair was black. Black like midnight. Black like his
obsidian eyes. Black like the dark.
Nothing came to mind to reply so I ended up blurting out
"The colour of a cow pat."
Once again, his mouth twitched upwards. The movement
disappeared as quick as it had appeared.
"It is nearly the end of the day. I am too out of energy to
give good insults." I lamely made up an excuse to recover
from my cow-pat comment "Tomorrow I'll be ready."
He moved closer. He stole the space between us and neared
so that his scent filled my senses. He smelled like leather
and cologne and everything masculine.
My goal was to remain strong and act unaffected but that
thought quickly got thrown to the wind.
The thick muscly arm brushed past the top of my head
before moving past me and reaching into my locker.
A book was in his hand when he pulled his arm back.
Stone held my book up close to his face so he could read
the title which meant it was out of my reach. He did not
even have to raise his arm up for me to be jumping in an
attempt to get it back.
"Give it back, Lurch!" I demanded, continuing to jump up
higher and higher.
If I knew I was going to have to climb a mountain, then I
would have brought a harness with me to school.
He noticed my stretching to try and get the book because
his dark eyes lit up in amusement as I kept on shooting him
an angry glare.
I felt like I was back at middle school when the boys in my
class would steal my frog shaped cookies and hold them out
of reach from me.
The giant finally took pity and lowered the novel, so that it
was in reach.
I took it and placed it back in the locker. I never stopped
glaring at him as I did so.
"I have had enough of you today." I huffed as I slammed my
locker dramatically.
The bell for the end of lunch filled the empty hall.
Before the bustling crowd of noisy students filled the hall,
Stone lowered his head and uttered gruffly "See you tonight,
Medusa."
People flooded into the corridor from either side of us, but I
could not focus on any of them. I could not focus on
anything else but the broad shoulders looking gown on me
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I questioned with
widened eyes.
He did not answer. He took off down the hall towards the
exit of the school but not before stealing another look at me
over his shoulder.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Five
"So, are we going for horror or action?" I asked while
sprawled out on Lana's living room sofa, holding up two DVD
cases "I think we should watch an action film for a change."
Lana shook her head before sheepishly insisting "They are
doing a showing of a Barbie movie on the kids station."
"We have seen all of them a thousand times. They are all
the same." I sighed "Girl finds out something bad has
happened and then discovers her magical powers. Girl
defeats bad guy and gets with good guy. It is not going to
change or get any more interesting the more we watch it."
"Please." She begged, putting her hands together while
sending me a pleading smile.
"The things I do for you." I huffed out as I threw the two DVD
cases on the floor.
She grinned while letting out an excited "Thank you."
"It is fine. Die Hard has many flaws anyway. Like Bruce Willis
climbs up elevator shafts and through vents and then he
comes out with his shirt looking fresh from the store" I
explained before an idea popped into my head "I have a
theory."
Lana rubbed her at temples while letting out a small groan
"Not one of your theories."
Theories were kind of my thing. Sometimes a weird
hypothesis or thought would come into my head and I would
either explain it to her or I would write it down. I even used
to have a blog where I would share my ludicrous theories
with the few people that chose to follow my wacky site.
"Die Hard was out in nineteen-eighty-eight. A massive
decade for the laundry detergent business. At this time, all
companies were promising squeaky clean clothes." I stated
before going on to theorise "I think in the movie there was
probably a deleted scene with Bruce Willis cleaning his
clothes with this top brand cleaning product before he gets
caught up in all that Christmas drama."
Silence fell between us as Lana stared at me wide-eyed.
"We have been best friends for ten years, Ella." She shared
vocally "And I am still not any closer to knowing what goes
on in that head of yours."
Before I could share my theory about the Bermuda Triangle,
Lana's mother walked into the room with a friendly smile on
her face.
"Hi, Mrs Armstrong." I greeted, wondering if she would enjoy
my theories more than her daughter.
"Hello, Ella sweetheart." The woman's voice was filled with
energy as she spoke "How are you?"
"I'm good." I answered back, crossing my arms over myself
as I sat up from her sofa.
"How did it go with school today?" Mrs Armstrong turned to
her daughter with curiosity flowing through her words "Did
you get closer to that boy you like?"
Lana's cheeks turned crimson when she mumbled "Yes,
Mom. I did."
"I heard his friend was starting too." The older woman set
her sights on me with a grin as she continued her
interrogation "What is he like?"
I bit down my instant response to the question which would
use very colourful language.
Shrugging, I shared with her “Well...he growls and grumbles
a lot."
"Growls?" Mrs Armstrong repeated, appearing confused
"Like an animal?"
"No." I answered, not mentioning the huskiness and the
dark appeal of it "More like a broken vacuum."
Mrs Armstrong laughed before she sauntered through to the
kitchen and came back through with a bundle of washing.
She then left to go upstairs.
Just as she left, the front door opened, and Mr Armstrong
made his way into the house with a few bags of groceries.
Lana ran over to give him a quick hug and to help him carry
the bags.
A pain went straight to my chest as I watched the two of
them.
Every single time I set foot in her house; it was like a hit to
the gut. The emotions that I was trying to keep down
resurfaced when I saw them all laughing and spending time
together.
A family eating together and sharing stories about their day
was something so simple yet it was all I wanted. The
Armstrong household was a painful reminder of what I did
not have. What I wanted but could not ever have.
It was not like Lana, or her parents ever made me feel
unwelcome. It was the opposite. They considered me family
and always welcomed my visits with open arms.
I had mixed feelings about spending time at their house. I
enjoyed their company but then I had to eventually go
home to my own empty house, and it only made me miss
what I once had more.
"Hello, Mr Armstrong." I greeted as I walked over to take a
bag from him.
The round man gave me a small hug before placing a bag in
my hand "How are you, Ella? Are you staying for dinner?"
"It is macaroni night." I told him with a grin "Nothing could
keep me away."
We took the shopping to the kitchen and started to unpack
it as Mrs Armstrong appeared at the doorway with a small
smile.
"I have already made a start on the dinner." She informed
while making her way over to the oven to make sure the
cheese was melting properly "It will be ready in about
twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes too long." I whispered to myself, already
drooling at the smell in the kitchen.
Mrs Armstrong must have heard me because she laughed
quietly to herself.
"Oh, Lana." Mrs Armstrong turned to her daughter and her
face lit up like she was just remembering something "I
forgot to mention. There is a cute boy throwing rocks at
your window."
Either Brennan was trying to gain her attention at her
window, or we had picked up a stalker on the way home
from school.
"So that was what he was doing?" Mr Armstrong spoke to his
wife over his shoulder as he placed the groceries in the
fridge "I seen him and his friend pull up in the truck."
I stilled where I stood.
"Was his friend hugely built, evil-looking and wearing a
leather jacket and a scowl?" I forced out the question
because I was unsure if I wanted to hear the answer.
"That is a very accurate description actually." Mr Armstrong
chuckled.
Stone's parting words in the school corridor made sense
now.
Lana and I shared a matching look. That was until I bolted
away from the kitchen and up the stairs.
"Ella!" She called as she raced after me.
I got up the stairs in record time, but I was short of breath
as I made it to her bedroom. Lana also sounded out of
breath, and I cackled at the image of her standing in front of
Brennan all red and sweaty.
I raced to her bedroom window and what I saw below made
me burst out laughing.
Brennan was standing on the driveway, and he was reading
something on his phone with a look of bafflement on his
face.
My eyes only momentarily rested on the guy below the
window because my attention quickly went to the black
truck parked on the sidewalk.
Stone was leaning against the vehicle with his large arms
crossed over his broad chest. His face was emotionless as
he stared at nothing particular.
The dark eyes noticed me because his gaze then rested
upwards towards the window I was standing at.
I welcomed him by flipping him off.
A small smirk took over his strict and serious features.
Lana held back a few steps from the window. She looked too
scared to see what Brennan was doing so I decided to grab
her arm and yank her beside me.
"What is that idiot up to?" I spoke while nodding down to the
guy who was currently smiling up at us.
Lana pushed her window open and stuck her head out to
shout "What are you doing here?"
"Don't you know, Lovely Lana." He called up to her "I have a
school project to do."
I shot her a confused look because I had no clue what he
was about to do.
Brennan raised his phone to eye level, and he read aloud
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the
east and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious
moon, who is already sick and pale with grief. That thou her
maid art far more fair than she."
I understood then what he was trying to do
"Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some
business, do entreat her eyes. To twinkle in their spheres till
they return." Brennan continued reading from his phone
"What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The
brightness of her cheek would shame those stars."
"Can you believe him?" Lana's tone went all dreamy when
she admired him.
"Yeah." I deadpanned while sticking my head out of the
window so that he would hear my comment too "He just
skipped a massive part."
Brennan ignored my criticism and called up to Lana "I
needed evidence that I was like Romeo for my English
essay."
Lana's blue eyes went glazed over in admiration as she
peered down at him.
Nobody had ever turned up to her garden and re-enacted
Shakespeare before. Not even me.
"So, what now then?" She shouted down to him "We drink
poison and die together?"
"That is not quite what—" I started to argue but I got cut off
by the sound of the front door opening.
Lana's mother was outside, and she was practically
sprinting towards the boys.
"Hello, Mrs Armstrong." Brennan did not look fazed at all
when he spoke to Lana's mother "I'm Brennan, Lana's
friend."
Mrs Armstrong wrapped her arms around him to welcome
him. She also gave him a kiss on the cheek as she hugged
him tight.
Lana was staring out the window with a dropped jaw.
I was too busy laughing to show any sympathy towards her.
"I haven't even kissed him yet." Lana muttered under
breath.
Laughing evilly like an animated villain, I patted her back
"Don't worry. There is plenty time for kissing after he meets
his new in-laws."
She shushed me before peering out the window and
watching the rest of the scene unfold.
"It is so nice to meet you, Brennan." Mrs Armstrong declared
enthusiastically, waving her arms around in the air "Do you
like macaroni?"
"I love macaroni." Brennan answered, shooting a grin up at
us.
"You must come in for dinner." Lana's mother insisted and
then her attention went to the large man standing by the
black truck as she added "Invite your friend too."
"I will go and get him, Mrs Armstrong." Brennan told her
with a friendly smile "Stone is not a talker."
Mrs Armstrong did not hug Stone on arrival, and I could not
blame her for that. I could not imagine hugging him. He
would squash me like a bug.
Both men walked over to the house and followed Mrs
Armstrong into the house.
I snapped out of watching them and grinned at Lana while
taunting "Looks like dinner has got a bit more interesting
with your loverboy."
"You will have to spend more time with Stone." She
rebutted.
My grin fell.
"Does that mean less macaroni?" I cried.
She brushed off my concern for the food and pointed down
to herself before asking "Do I look okay?"
"You look fine." I assured her "I don't think Brennan is
expecting you to change your outfit three times a day for
him."
Her hand grabbed mine and she dragged me out of her
room and down the stairs.
The two well-built guys were already sitting down on the
sofa. Brennan was talking to Lana's mom while Stone made
eye contact with me as I descended the last step of the
stairs.
Lana sat down on the sofa opposite them while sending
them a smile. Her face then blushed as Brennan smiled
back.
"Hello Brennan." I said in acknowledgment while I flopped
down on the seat next to my best friend "Lurch."
"Medusa." The gruff voice delivered lowly.
"Hi, Ella." Brennan was chattier because he added a
question to his greeting "How is it going?"
"It’s not changed since the last time I seen you." I hummed
while pretending to stare at my wrist that had no watch on it
"Because that was only two hours ago."
Stone occupied a large amount of the sofa. He leaned back
and spread his legs while he continued to keep his black
irises set on me.
I knew that this surprise dinner visit was premeditated.
The giant had warned me at my locker. He had come to
annoy me and potentially kill me if insulted him further.
Which I would.
"I'm away through to the kitchen to make sure the food is
cooking just fine." Mrs Armstrong announced while making
her way towards the other room "Is lemonade okay for you
boys?"
Brennan nodded and smiled, and Stone just nodded.
My eyes narrowed at the large man as I grounded out "What
are you doing here?"
The massively wide shoulders belonging to him shrugged
and his gravelly deep voice went quiet when he revealed "I
can't stay away."
His idea of a joke made my eyes narrow further at him.
"Meeting the parents?" Lana joked with a nervous giggle
"That is a big step."
Brennan leaned back and made himself more comfortable
on the couch as he spoke up "I have a confession to make."
"You don't really like lemonade?" Lana suggested, the blush
on her face growing.
"I didn't come here to recite Romeo and Juliet.” Brennan
chuckled "We came to try this famous better-than-sex
macaroni."
The stunning obsidian-coloured eyes connected with mine
as I finally grew the courage to meet his gaze.
Everything else ceased to exist apart from the feeling of my
body burning under his study.
I should have found his fixed observation on me unsettling,
but I did not. I should have been scared of the fact that that
he could crush me between his finger and his thumb, but I
was not.
Brennan sighed as he peered between the giant and me
"Why don't you two try to be nice to each other?"
Stone's gaze homed in on me and he cocked his head like
he is waiting for me to answer.
"In the book Anne of Green Gables, she does not talk to
Gilbert Blythe for like two years after he insults her hair." I
referenced before pointing to the large man opposite me
"He is lucky I am talking to him at all."
Lana and Brennan sent me a blank look like I was speaking
in Latin.
"They go on to get married and have six kids." The gravelly
masculine voice spoke up.
I would have strangled him if I was not so taken aback by
his book knowledge.
"Tell me, Broccoli." Stone grumbled out his words, his lip
curling up in amusement "Do you want me to buy us a
cottage in California and we can name it Green Gables?"
He had called me Broccoli. Like the nickname Carrots in the
book but instead he had used a green vegetable for my
green hair.
I palmed the side of the sofa and fought the urge to launch
myself at his unshakeable body and kill him.
Mrs Armstrong's arrival interrupted my glaring at the giant.
"Dinner is nearly ready and the table is set." Lana's mother
sung teasingly "I will let you arrange your seats but no
footsie until dessert."
Once we were all through to the dining room, the two men
paused and waited for us to sit down before taking a seat.
I sat down in my normal seat and picked up the cutlery
before beginning to tap it on the placemat. Lana sat down
next to me, and the male guests took the hint to sit opposite
us.
"Can you stop tapping?" Lana sassed while nudging me "You
are acting like you are never fed."
Stone's head turned to me immediately. He eyed me across
the table with an emotion that I could not decipher. His jaw
clenched while his shoulders tensed.
"I'm so hungry." I faked a small whine "I feel like Hannibal
Lecter in the asylum being prevented from a good meal."
"Minus the human meat?" Brennan questioned with a
chuckle.
"No." I assured him quickly before pointing my dinner knife
at Stone "Why do you think we let you both in?"
"Ella, please refrain from killing our guests." Mrs Armstrong
interrupted my cannibal threats as she set the big dish of
macaroni in the middle of the table "There we go. Dig in."
Lana filled her plate and then Brennan did the same.
Stone did not move. He looked at me then the food then
back at me.
My mouth quirked up a little. I hid my hint of a smile away
from him as I scooped a large spoonful of food onto my
plate.
Both of Lana's parents took the last two remaining seats at
either end of the table.
"It is nice to meet you both." Mr Armstrong told the boys as
he offered them a jolly smile "We have heard so much about
you."
"Really?" I laughed after swallowing down my macaroni "I
don't remember mentioning them."
Lana kicked me in the shin which resulted in some perfectly
good food getting dropped on the table.
She sent me a look of warning to be nice.
"It is nice to meet you too, Mr Armstrong." Brennan replied
charmingly before motioning with his head towards his
friend "I'm Brennan and this is Stone."
Stone remained silent and nodded his head once in his idea
of a greeting.
Mrs Armstrong finished her mouthful before questioning "So
how did you meet the girls then?"
"We met them at the pier." Brennan answered "I met Lana
when we both wanted the last candy apple from the stall. I
offered to share it and then we went on the Ferris wheel."
"That is so romantic." Lana's mother gushed before her
motherly instincts kicked in "What are your plans for the
future?"
"Mom. Stop. This is dinner." Lana tried to nicely enforce her
mother to be quiet "Not an interrogation."
"It is fine." Brennan assured Lana before answering the
question "Surfing is my passion. I want to teach other
people how to enjoy and love the waves as well. I have
always wanted to teach young kids how to surf. It was a
massive thing growing up for the both of us."
I paid extra attention to the last part of his sentence.
Stone was a surfer, and it came as no surprise to me
because nobody got to his size without exercising
vigorously. He had to do more than grunting and glaring to
earn that muscular figure. His arms were the size of my
thighs, and I only had a small gap between them. 
I took a drink of the lemonade and forced myself to ignore
the existence of the man on the opposite side of the table
from me.
"What about you, Stone?" Mrs Armstrong's voice grew a
little quieter when she spoke towards the quiet one "Any
plans?"
I stopped eating and looked up at Stone to wait for his
answer. I waited to see if he would answer.
He glanced at her for a split second but then his attention
drew back to me as he disclosed "I work as a mechanic."
My list of facts about him had grown. I knew that his name
was Stone. I knew he was large, intimidating and reserved. I
now knew he was a mechanic. I knew he was smart and
maybe even secretly a nerd. I had gathered that from the
Midsummers Night Dream and The Anne of Green Gables
reference.
"The macaroni is delicious, Mrs Armstrong." Brennan
commented.
I shook myself out of my trace and looked anywhere else
apart from across the table.
"You are both lovely boys." Mrs Armstrong beamed while
cooing "You can come over anytime."
"As much as I want Brennan to come over here every night,"
Lana leaned over and whispered into my ear "I don't want it
to be with my parents watching us like their very own reality
show."
I laughed at her but then my eyes landed on the empty
macaroni bowl.
"Ella, is everything okay?" Lana's dad asked when he
noticed my solemn expression.
"No, it is not. Mrs Armstrong kindly makes me up a box of
leftover food for my lunch for the next day. Even though
there is no microwave at school, I still eat it cold because it
still tastes so good and now look," I ranted dramatically
before pointing to the now empty bowl in the middle of the
table and then to the two guys "These greedy pigs have
eaten it all!"
"I will make more next time." Mrs Armstrong promised,
stifling back a laugh.
"Why do you even have a six-seater table?" I asked both of
her parents before taking another drink of my lemonade.
Mrs Armstrong grinned as she confessed "We always knew
you were both going to bring boyfriends back and here we
are."
I almost spat out my drink.
I had to put my hand over my mouth so that the soda did
not spray all over Stone and make him look like a wet dog.
I then second guessed myself and reconsidered spitting it
out.
Before I could shut down her comment about Stone and me,
Lana corrected with a nervous smile "Brennan and I are not
a couple."
"Yet." Brennan added with a wink in her direction.
Her parents matched his ear-to-ear smile while I thought I
was going to puke up all my food from the flirting going on.
Mr Armstrong decided to change the topic of conversation
"How was school today, girls?"
"It was good." Lana replied.
"Ella?"
"Awful." I declared, sending a secret smile towards Stone
before putting on a sad voice while telling them "This new
guy in my English class likes to insult me. He made fun of
my hair and my height."
Stone sat back in his chair and homed in on me with
interested like he could not wait for what I was going to say
next.
Mrs Armstrong appeared shocked when she uttered "And
you did not punch him?"
"I wanted to." I answered her but I never took my gaze off
the amused giant "I just couldn't reach."
After we all finished our food, Lana's mom stood up from the
table and started to collect the plates. Lana and I got up to
help her with the dishes, but she shook her head quickly.
"Your mother and I will clean up." Mr Armstrong insisted to
his daughter.
"Lana, go and show Brennan the garden. Spend some
quality time together." Mrs Armstrong suggested
commandingly before adding "Ella and Stone can go and sit
on the sofa."
I gaped at the back of Mrs Armstrong's head as she and her
husband went through to the kitchen, leaving us all standing
there silently.
"Is that okay?" Lana turned to me and asked.
"I am perfectly fine with getting left with the wicker man." I
told her before looking up towards Stone "I can handle him."
Brennan barked a laugh before he asked, "What is a wicker
man?"
"The Druids, the enemy of the Romans, had this humongous
statue of a man. They believed that they had to set the
wicker man on fire and hand it—" I started to explain but I
got interrupted by the wicker man himself.
"Human sacrifices." Stone finished off for me with a grunt.
"It is a very clever reference if you understand it." I
explained, "Stone is large and he looks like he wants to kill
everyone around him."
I was not used to people getting my references. I usually
had to explain the joke or the point I was making. I had
become accustomed to laughing on my own at my jokes and
nerdy comments.
I peered down at the floor and smiled at how Stone had
gotten my reference.
Lana appeared hesitant to leave. She looked between Stone
and I and she remained standing beside me.
"Go." I insisted her while I took a step towards the large man
"Stone and I will not kill each other. Well, not today anyway."
She did not look convinced.
I sighed before reaching out and tugging at the bottom of
Stone's leather jacket "Come along, Lurch."
Stone instantly followed me through to the living room as I
skipped ahead.
As I walked on further, I noticed how near he was lingering
behind me. His body trailed so closely that I feared again if I
stopped suddenly, he would run into me and flatten my
body in the process.
My back slumped against the sofa as I let myself fall back
onto the pillow. The material under me then moved as Stone
sat right next to me.
There was a whole other empty sofa in the room, yet he had
sat next to me so that the whole of the side of my body met
his. My head was close to resting against his elbow.
If I moved a single centimetre then I would have been sitting
on him.
I was about to ask about the proximity, but I was interrupted
by my phone buzzing against my chest.
I fetched the phone out of my bra before checking what had
made it buzz.
Stone's eyes darkened when he saw what it was.
A notification from a dating site lit up my phone.
The colossal sized body remained motionless which
contrasted with the emotions swirling about in his black
eyes. He looked completely and utterly furious and
bloodthirsty as I opened the app.
His gaze darted between my face and my phone while his
eyes darkened further until he appeared even more
unhinged.
Tapping around on the date site, I ignored the manic and
crazed expression he held as he clenched his jaw.
He was always angry, so I thought nothing of his current
attitude.
"I don't actually meet up with anyone." I spoke to fill the
silence "I just like to bring arrogant guys down a peg or two.
I like hitting them with an awesome comeback to their
pickup lines. It is quite therapeutic."
His mood did not lighten.
The round wide shoulders remained tensed, and his jaw was
ticking furiously while he watched me.
"This guy wrote Haven't I seen you someplace before?" I
read an example off my phone screen "So I wrote back Yeah,
that is why I don't go there anymore."
A carnivorous grumble left the large chest.
I ignored the noise "He is probably crying in a corner right
now."
Stone was scowling at the phone like it was his long-lost
arch-nemesis.
"Do you want a go at writing something smart back to one
these guys?" I asked to break the tension of his gaze on my
face "You might find it therapeutic too."
He snatched my phone from me in one vicious flick of his
wrist. He gripped onto it so tightly that it was a miracle the
phone did not crush in his hold.
One thick finger was all he used as he pressed three times
on the screen.
The widget was gone from my home screen. He had deleted
the dating app from my phone.
"Why did you do that?" I asked, sending a frown up at him.
Stone said nothing else. The only time he moved was to
place his bulky arm on the part of sofa cushion behind my
head.
I shrugged before muttering to myself "I guess that is one
way to get rid of all of those flirty messages in one-go."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Six
The school changing rooms were disgusting. The smell of
over-sprayed perfume and sweat filled the room. The walls
were peeling at the sides and the ceiling was flaking at the
corners.
Leavendale High changing rooms were infamous for the
paper towel game which entailed throwing a wet cloth on
the ceiling and waiting for it to fall on someone's head.
"So, you haven’t spoken to Brennan since the kiss?" I asked
her while nudging down my bra that had risen slightly when
I had taken my shirt off.
While Stone and I were having our long staring contest on
the Armstrong's sofa, Lana was having her first kiss with
Brennan outside in the garden.
"Brennan didn't wait outside school this morning to meet
me and I never seen him on the way to homeroom." Lana's
voice grew quiet as she spoke.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you will see him." I assured her "Gym
class usually has like forty people per class. He might be
there."
Her right shoulder rose in a small shrug, but I could tell by
the look on her face that she was moping.
"He might also sing some Frankie Valli while dancing on the
bleachers." I added in hopes of cheering her up.
"You have been watching too many rom-coms." She pointed
out with a laugh.
"It was you that made me watch Ten Things I Hate About
You." I crossed my arms and scoffed the words out "I was
held against my will."
"Did I force feed you the popcorn too?" She rebutted,
sending me a side glare as she tied her shoelace.
My school bag was heavy due to our planned beach trip
after school. Lana had phoned the night before and asked
me to go to the beach with her and the two new additions to
the table. My original answer to her question was a firm no
when I found out Stone was going but then Lana begged,
and I finally gave in.
I started to dig my hands deeper into my bag when I could
not find my gym shirt. The bag was packed full of my beach
towel and my bikini that I was struggling to find my gym
clothes.
"What are you looking for?" Lana asked, noticing my
struggle.
"My t-shirt." I laughed because I was stressed while
continuing to search my bag "This is your fault. I would not
have had a full bag today if I was not getting dragged to the
beach."
"You need to come." She sighed before adding "Stone is
coming too and he only talks to you."
"He does not only talk to me." I argued.
"Yes. He does." Lana affirmed, "The most I have heard him
say is Medusa."
Letting out a huff, I changed the subject "Gym for the first
class of the day should be a crime. Gym in general should
be a crime."
I released a sigh of relief when I finally found my gym shirt. I
pulled it over my head and yanked it down but then I
stopped.
The material of my shirt stretched to the bottom of my
chest and went no further.
After yanking at it again and it did not budge, I cursed.
Lana studied my midsection and raised one of her light
eyebrows "Ella, is your shirt meant to be that tiny?"
"No." I whined before concluding "It must have accidentally
shrunk in the washing machine."
My favourite skull shirt barely made it past my boobs. If I
raised my arms the tiniest bit, then I would end up flashing
everyone my bra.
At the sight of the skeleton head on my chest that looked
less like a head and more like a white spot due to the
shortness of the material, Lana held her stomach as she
began laughing.
"This is not funny, Lana. The t-shirt is teensy." I covered my
face with my hands and groaned.
"Do you have a spare?" She quietly questioned while
offering me a sympathetic smile.
I shook my head and let out a sigh "What am I going to do?"
"Come on." Lana tried to keep her tone affirmative as she
encouraged me "It looks fine."
I was about to argue with her, but it was too late because
Lana grabbed my arm and guided me out of the changing
room and into the gym hall.
The gym hall fit in with the rest of the theme of the school
that looked like something straight out of the eighties. The
large room smelt like sweat and it made me doubt that
anyone had cleaned the place in the past decade. The lines
of the basketball court were fading, and the bleachers were
a murky grey colour.
Something else that looked like it belonged in the eighties
was my gym teacher. He was small with a potbelly and a
moustache. His patterned tracksuit made him look more like
a doughnut than an athlete.
He currently looked like a very angry doughnut as his eyes
landed on my shirt.
"Hi Coach," I said with an awkward smile while I crossed my
arms over my chest.
The crossing of my arms only drew more attention to my
chest because the action made the material rise. My black
lace bra was slightly visible.
"Miss Miller." The gym coach uttered in disbelief "Do you
want to explain your outfit?"
I laughed nervously and looked around "So this is not a
Vegas strip club...?"
He shook his head and told me sternly "You can’t participate
in basketball in that attire."
"So, I have to sit out?" I concluded while trying to keep my
excitement to a minimum.
The gym teacher nodded.
"I am bringing a smaller shirt next week." I mumbled under
my breath.
Lana raised her hand sheepishly to ask the teacher "Can I
sit out, too?"
"Why, Miss Armstrong?" The angry doughnut questioned.
"What if I get kidnapped and snatched from the bleachers?"
I exaggerated while taking a step closer to Lana "I need her
to protect me."
"Miss Miller, you and I both know you are more than capable
of defending yourself." The coach did not look convinced as
he pointed out "I still remember the case with poor David
Walker."
"David tried to take the ball away from me!" I defended.
"We were playing football." The gym teacher exclaimed,
"That is the aim of the game"
I widened my eyes to make them appear sadder while I
argued "I'm just not feeling that well and Lana can come
and look after me"
The gym teacher looked so done with the conversation, so
he finally agreed "Sit at the bleachers and do not interrupt
my lesson."
Both Lana and I smiled victoriously as we headed to the
bleachers. We walked past the crowd of our classmates that
were whistling and cheering.
Most of the cheers were male and it was not because they
were excited to play basketball.
My whole face turned the colour of a tomato as I shrank in
my seat and tried to hide. I pulled down my shirt and pulled
my hair over my shoulder to hide my face.
The class were getting split into teams for the basketball
game. Lana looked around the bustling court for a specific
someone and I joined in with her search.
There was no sign of Brennan or Stone in the gym hall.
As two teams were sent on to play on the court, a flirty
voice from the side-lines called out "If you wanted to give
me a sneak peek then you could have at least done it in
private."
I faced the culprit of the words that came in the form of the
blonde captain of the football team.
"Not that I am complaining." Chase added while letting his
gaze roam my exposed stomach.
"You better get a good look." I gritted out as he neared "This
is as much as you will be seeing from now on."
The quarterback let out a laugh like he did not believe me.
"Should you not be coming up with a game plan with your
buddies right now?" I pointed out in a subtle way of trying to
get rid of him "We both know you hate to lose."
Chase offered me a cocky smile as he conveyed "We will
have to see if your friends offer any competition."
I followed the footballer's gaze as he turned and looked at
the two well-built males standing at the side of the court.
Stone was flicking his dark feral gaze between Chase and
me. He appeared even more slaughterous and ruthless than
normal.
I did not know how I did not notice him as soon as he
entered the room.
The giant stood way taller and broader than the rest. The
clenched jaw and the tensed body looked like he was about
to go war radiated his wrath and that made him noticeable
also.
Chase turned back to face me, and he cleared his throat
before speaking "So are you coming to my back-to-school
party Friday night?"
I would normally jump at the opportunity to go to a party
with him, but I was not feeling it. I told myself that it was
because of his comment in English class.
"I think I’m busy." I answered vaguely before swiftly
changing the subject "When am I getting my panda?"
"Oh." Chase uttered in surprise "Did you actually want the
panda?"
I tilted my head and retorted like it was obvious "Yeah. I
did."
"I put it in the trash." He informed me with no sympathy at
all.
"You did what?" I blurted out and then I raised my voice to
curse at him “You...You stuffed animal sociopath!"
Chase laughed, still unapologetic about Pete's passing "I will
get you another one next time."
A feeling in my gut told me that there was not going to be a
next time.
I never enjoyed myself the last time. I ended up ditched and
panda-less.
"How was your stupid fight thing that you ditched me for
anyway?" I asked him to make conversation "It must have
been important because I have never seen someone move
so fast."
His whole playful demeanour dropped suddenly. His smirk
fell into a frown.
"It was terrible and they weren’t even that good." Chase
tutted bitterly "You can tell your friends that."
"Why would I want to tell my friends about an illegal fight
club on the beach?" I remarked confusedly.
Silence filled the space of the bleachers for a few minutes
before anyone spoke.
"Come to my party on Friday." The quarterback insisted
again.
I opened my mouth to reject him again, but I was cut off
before I could.
Lana spoke up while shooting Chase a polite smile "We will
be there."
"We will?" I quietly muttered to her.
Chase nodded his head. He then ran off towards the court
when he noticed that the teams were switching over.
I watched him leave before I turned to Lana and demanded
to know "Why did you say yes to him?"
"It is something we can both do together." She revealed
while twiddling her finger in her hair "I don't want you to
feel left out because the two guys are sitting with us now. I
want you to know that I am not abandoning you for
Brennan."
"We could do something that is not Chase's party." I told her
before shuddering at the memories of the last one party
went to "They always end up in ruckus. Last time, a guy
drank ten shots of straight vodka and spewed it all over
Chase's neighbour's cat."
Lana scrunched up her face in disgust.
"There is still traces of it its fur." I added to point out how
horrible his parties are.
She shook her head before encouraging "Come on. It will be
fun."
"Fine." I gave in with a sigh "We will go."
The whistle went off and the two new teams on the court
started playing.
One team was made up of Chase and his football friends.
The other team was made up of Brennan and Stone.
I leaned forward in my seat and watched as the other
players watched the giant with a look of fear on their faces.
There was something about the way Stone moved around
the court. It was fast yet deliberate. The movements were
strong. He dominated the area around him, and he radiated
authority among the players.
Nobody dared themselves to go near the large muscular
man.
"Who knew basketball shorts could look so good on a guy?"
Lana uttered as she watched Stone reach up and place the
ball in the hoop for the sixth time in a minute.
My head snapped to her as soon as she said the words.
"I thought you liked Brennan." I pointed out.
"I do." Lana confirmed as she sent me a weird look.
Something built up at the bottom of my stomach, but I
managed to force out a laugh and a few words "I'm sure it is
not too late to change your affection towards his friend
instead."
The players moved back into the starting position as the
whistle blew again.
Stone strode back into the middle of the court. He had not
even broken a sweat. He looked more ready than ever to
knock everyone out of his path.
Suddenly the dark pair of eyes met mine across the room.
I felt like I had been caught doing something I should not
have been. I continued to look at him, but I shifted in my
seat and crossed one of my legs over the other.
His gaze captured mine until another whistle filled the hall
again.
"I think Stone is taken." Lana's attention flickered between
the game and me before she let out a giggle.
I continued to watch the game. I put extra effort into
watching all of the players and not just the largest one of
them.
Lana leaned to the side so that she could whisper into my
ear "Do you find him attractive?"
"Who?" I asked, feigning innocent even though I knew
exactly who she was talking about.
"You know who."
There was no point in denying it. To try and say that Stone
was not lethally attractive was the same as arguing that the
guillotine did not take someone's head off.
"I guess he is." I eventually told her with a nonchalant shrug
"That doesn’t change the fact that he is an annoying ass
that I can't stand."
She looked like she was going to say something else, but
she was interrupted by a voice coming from the court.
"Ella!" Chase shouted as he dribbled the ball "If I score this
basket, will you lift your shirt and give us all a treat?"
Most of the players were laughing as they took a glance at
my tiny top.
The one huge, tattooed person that was not amused
grabbed the ball from the quarterback and effortlessly
rammed into his side.
The movement was so harsh and powerful that Chase fell
over. He flew a good ten meters at the impact before he hit
the floor with a bang.
All the laughter from the players died out as they stared at
the scene with wide eyes.
I also stared wide-eyed after wincing at the brutal sound of
Chase hitting the floor.
Stone did not spare a single glance at Chase when he took
the shot from midcourt and threw the ball right into the
hoop.
A chorus of screams and cheers broke the silence as
everyone admired the remarkable throw of the ball.
Brennan jogged over towards the angry giant, and it looked
like he was trying to reason with him. Stone was too busy
scowling at the boy on the floor and clenching his hands into
fists to listen to whatever Brennan was saying.
Lana blinked a few times before muttering "What the hell."
I blinked to make sure what had happened was real.
"Remind me never to shoot some hoops with Lurch." I
mumbled to her.
The game resumed for another twenty minutes before
Chase's team lost to Stone's. The score ended up as two
and forty-four.
Nothing was said to Stone about his violent streak. The gym
teacher appeared far too intimidated to approach him and
tell him off.
Stone's face still did not look any less enraged as he crossed
his arms over his bulky erratically moving chest and set his
sights on me.
When the coach dismissed the class and told everyone to go
and get changed, I got up as fast as I could and rushed to
get out of the gym hall.
I kept my head down as I fled so I was not expecting to run
into a hard surface.
The muscular wall caught me off guard and I stumbled
backwards as I bounced against it.
Huge hands carefully gripped onto my waist, keeping me on
my feet as I grabbed onto the surface which happened to be
a hard chest.
My skin that touched him started to feel heated as I peered
up at the large figure who saved me from falling.
What I found was that Stone was looking down at me with a
clenched jaw and a darkened gaze.
"Woah. What are you made up of?" I could not help but ask
him as I poked his stomach with one of my fingers "Bricks?
Titanium? Stone?"
He cocked his head, and he narrowed his eyes down at me.
The large hands belonging to him that were set on my waist
tightened.
I slowly removed my palms from his chest and made my
way around the wall-like obstacle of a man before walking
away.
Image
After a long few periods of dissecting a sheep's heart in
Biology and watching a Shakespeare adaption in English, I
was relieved it was lunch.
I was also relieved that I had remembered to bring a
sandwich.
I was deep in thought as I munched at my food. My mind
kept going back to the event in gym class.
I had not spoken to Stone all today. I saw him in English but
he was in a foul mood so I decided it would be best not to
bicker with him or taunt him.
Lana took out her lunch from her bag while motioning to my
own "No noodles today?"
"I have learned my lesson." I told her with a roll of my eyes
"I still have to pay Lurch back."
"Do you know what the whole gym body slam thing was
about?" She queried, her expression turning a little scared
as she thought back to gym class.
I opened my can of soda and shrugged "Maybe he didn't like
Chase's comment about my t-shirt."
She hummed in response "It seemed like he had a personal
vendetta against Chase."
"I guess he doesn't like cat-callers." I said as I thought about
it further.
"He acted so aggressively" Lana replied after sipping her
cherry cola "It was not an accident. He bulldozed right into
him."
I saw and perceived him as intimidating, but I did not think
he would be so blatantly violent.
It sounded ridiculous that I was thinking about it so much. I
barely knew the guy and it was none of my business
anyway.
Lana was about to add something to her point but the
arrival of the two guys stopped her from opening her mouth.
Brennan and Stone sat down in the same place as yesterday
placing their full buffet of food on the table.
The large lean leg touched mine as Stone stole all the space
of our bench.
"What are you two talking about?" Brennan asked on arrival
as he sent the both of us a smile.
"I thought you were just testing the food yesterday." Lana
quickly changed the topic of conversation by pointing at his
molehill of a tray “Are you going to eat all of that?"
Brennan laughed while tucking into his first plate "We are
growing boys."
I watched them talk but I could no longer ignore the heat on
my face.
The dark eyes were on me. They were not amused or
taunting like they had usually been. His eyes were narrowed
in on me like he was making sure that I did not move from
my seat.
I had taken enough of his death glare already, so I turned on
the seat and faced him with my own glare.
"What are you staring at, Lurch? Have you banged your
head and lost your memory?" I uttered, my voice dripping
with sarcasm "You look like you haven't seen me before."
Stone raised an eyebrow and studied me in silence for a few
minutes.
He kept his darkened gaze on me as grunted out roughly
"Maybe I didn't recognise you with clothes on."
I opened my mouth and then closed it.
"It reached to the top of my stomach." I grounded out the lie
so that I had an argument "It was not even that bad."
A grumble of inaudible words left his mouth.
"It is not like I wore a bikini. Which I will be at the beach
after school." I pointed out before challenging "Will that
offend you?"
Nothing else left his mouth in reply. He looked away for a
few seconds and closed his eyes. His hand scrubbed over
his face and rested on his jaw before he met my eye again.
"My shirt shrank in the wash." I did not know why I was
defending myself, but I was "I didn't see it until it was too
late."
The veiny hands resting on the table relaxed and so did the
giant pair of shoulders
"Were you put in that load in the washing machine too?" The
deep voice went gruff as the words left his large chest.
My eyes narrowed at him as I gritted out "What did you just
say?"
Stone's obsidian irises flicked over my face as he uttered
lowly "Did you shrink too?"
"Five foot two is a perfectly normal size for a girl of my age."
I told him before narrowing my eyes further "Just because
you are a giant does not mean I will not kick your ass."
Stone's lip curled in amusement as he listened to my threat.
The corner of his mouth hiked up further as he noticed my
pursed lips that had gone out in anger.
A familiar voice that did not belong to a person at the table
broke the tension hanging between me and the large man.
"So good game, boys." Chase stood at the side of the table
with his arms crossed and the bitterness in his tone audible
in his voice.
He was in far too good a mood for someone that went flying
in the air and smacked against the floor in front of all his
peers.
Chase met my eye when he asked, “Are you coming to mine
after school?"
I felt the shoulder near the top of my head tense.
"She is coming to the beach with us." Brennan informed him
while watching in my direction.
"Is this true, Ella?" Chase questioned like the idea was
unimaginable.
I had no idea what to answer so I offered him a small reply
"Yeah."
"So, they are part of your table now? Chase sneered, his
attention on the lack of space between Stone and me on the
bench "One day together and you are off to the fucking
beach with them?"
"I'm going to the beach." I voiced in a fed-up tone "Not
joining a cult with them."
Chase laughed but it was full of malice and not at all
genuine.
"Have I seen you somewhere?" The quarterback shot the
question in the direction of the giant.
Brennan answered instead, his voice controlled and the
most serious I had heard it since meeting him "What is your
issue with us?"
"My dad is chief of police." The blonde jock said to them in a
matter-of-fact tone.
I tilted my head at Chase before mouthing to him "What are
you doing?"
He ignored me, still looking at the larger one of us all.
"Stone is not a very popular name." Chase spoke through
clenched teeth "Is it your real one? Or is it just another one
of your alias'?
My attention went back to Stone. More specifically my
attention went to his white knuckles and his fists that rested
so strenuously on the table that I feared it would break.
Chase had not finished with his interrogation because he
then went on to ask "Are you both some sort of gang
leaders or maybe you are—"
"Fuck off." Stone bellowed.
His words were so rough and so harsh that I almost fell off
my seat from the startlement of his commandment.
Stone noticed my reaction. His nearly black eyes shifted to
me, and they softened immediately.
Lana cleared her throat to gain my attention before she
mouthed to me "Do something."
With Stone looking a little less furious, I seized the
opportunity and get up to grab Chase's arm.
Another guttural noise left the giant which made me second
guess my action.
"Right, Sherlock." I spoke to Chase while motioning for him
to leave "That is enough interrogation for one day."
I escorted the quarterback back to his lunch table and left
him there without saying another word.
My walk back to the table was watched by the eyes of the
large, tattooed man. His furious gaze trailed me as I made
my way back to him.
It was only when I sat back down that Stone relaxed
completely. It was only when I sat back down that an oddly
satisfied look crossed his harsh facial features.
Before I could forget, I grabbed my bag and brought out a
five-dollar bill to repay him for the noodles.
I placed the five-dollar note on the table and slid it over to
him.
Stone never said a word as he glanced at the note. He
slammed his large hand onto the money and moved it back
towards me.
Glaring at him, I pushed it back in his direction.
He moved it again back towards me. He also pushed a plate
of noodles and chicken from his lunch tray over to my side
of the table so that it was in front of me.
"I had a sandwich." My glare disappeared when I quietly
argued "I don't need any more food."
His glower left no room for argument. The stern scowl he
sent my way meant he was not going to take no for an
answer.
"I don't need it." I assured him softly.
"Medusa." His was rough and came out commandingly.
I deepened my voice and exaggerated a grumble "Lurch."
He remained silent. He only moved to hold out a fork for me.
I gave up ten minutes later and took the fork from him
before dipping it into the noodles.
"Thank you." I delivered with genuine gratitude before I
added more argumentatively "I will find a way to pay you
back."
Brennan interrupted our conversation by asking "So, are we
still going to the beach after school?"
I nodded my head once before I felt the thick muscular leg
against mine relax.
Lana replied to Brennan about how excited she was to
spend time with him. They both spoke for a few minutes
more before falling into silence.
I was not the best at interpreting social signals. I watched
people closely for reactions but I could never understand
what exactly they meant.
I was able to pick up on the awkward silence that had fallen
between Lana and Brennan.
I randomly blurted out an icebreaker question "If you were a
planet then which one would you be?"
"What kind of question is that?" Brennan chuckled so hard
that it made his forehead crease.
A small shrug was my reply.
Nobody answered my question until the giant leant closer
and hunched downwards so that he was closer to my face.
"You would be Pluto." Stone uttered lowly.
I knew exactly what he meant so I sent him the scariest look
I could manage to paint on my face.
Pluto was the dwarf planet. Pluto was small which was just
like my size.
"I will kill you." I blurted out while trying to bite my lip to
contain my amusement.
His comment was kind of funny, so a laugh was threatening
to break out from the confinements of my chest. I held it
back because I did not want to give him the satisfaction of
making me laugh.
Stone's gaze went to my mouth. His eyes lightened when it
fell upon my lip that had uncontrollably moved up in a small,
amused smile.
"Kill him, Ella." Brennan encouraged from the other side of
the table.
The giant never offered him a single glance. He kept his
attention fixed on me as he reached out and picked up an
apple that was on his lunch tray.
"You never eat apples, Stone." The smoother and silkier
voice of the two men spoke up "I thought you didn't like
them."
I turned to see Brennan grinning like a madman.
Biting into his apple, Stone sent a terrifying glare across the
table that was enough to deter an army from getting close
to him.
I flicked my gaze between Stone and Brennan and wondered
why they were hating on apples.
I loved the smell of apples. I loved it so much that I always
used apple scented shower wash and body butter.
A triumphant grin made its way onto my face when I seized
the opportunity to pay the giant back. I waited until he was
distracted with eating and then I slipped the five dollars into
the pocket of his leather jacket.
Stone never noticed my slipping of the money in his pocket,
but he did notice my smile because he questioned
demandingly "What has made you smile, Medusa?"
My grin grew when I hummed tauntingly "I'm reminiscing
about that wonderful time at the ice cream parlour when
you were completely silent.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Seven
"Do you think Stone has calmed down yet?" Lana voiced her
concern as we strolled out of our last period class "He still
looked livid at lunch"
"I hope so." I replied while thinking back to the gym episode
and how angry he still was at lunch "We are getting in the
car with them. I don't want it to turn into a scene from Road
Runner."
"Are you trying to say he might run us off the road?"
"I still believe he has an elaborate plan to kill me so yes." I
mentioned to her with a shudder "Road rage is one of the
biggest causes of accidents on the road. Look it up."
The corridor was packed with people. Everyone was
crammed into the narrow corridor like sardines in a tin.
I could not see where I was going until I caught a glimpse of
light from the main door of the school. I headed in the
direction of the exit while trying to budge others out of the
way.
"Move out the way!" I called while I waved my arms around
to try and escape the teenager tsunami "Lana has a date!"
A few people stopped to look at us but most continued to
rush to the exit. Every person was eager to leave the
building and that meant the whole crowd would trample
over others to leave the school.
We finally made it out of the doors and onto the parking lot.
Both Lana and I searched around the busy lot for any sign of
the two guys we were supposed to meet.
Two minutes later and we found Brennan and Stone leaning
against a black truck parked at the very back of the parking
lot.
"What are you going to do about your car?" Lana questioned
as we neared Stone's truck and passed my car "Are you just
going to leave it here?"
"Shit." I cursed at myself "I never thought about that."
Brennan stood up straight at my outburst and cocked his
head "Is everything okay?"
I sighed "What am I going to do with Kermit?"
Kermit was the name of my small green car that I bought
last year when I first got my license. I fell in love with the
car at first sight because it reminded me of the one Mr Bean
drove. The car was a little old and run-down, but I had
grown an attachment to it.
Stone grew to his large, towering height as he stood straight
and demanded to know "Who is Kermit?"
"My pet frog that I have been carrying around in my bag all
day." I sarcastically remarked.
The giant took a step closer and waited for the real
exposition.
"My car is called Kermit." I told him while pointing at the
littlest and the greenest car in the lot.
"You called your car Kermit?" Brennan asked while laughing.
"It is small and green." I challenged "What else was I going
to call it?"
"How about Ella?" The deep voice of the large man delivered
gruffly and slightly tauntingly.
I crossed my arms and bit my lip to stop myself from
laughing. I tilted my chin and offered the large man a glare.
"How about I run you over with Kermit?" I threatened up to
Stone.
My gaze dropped to the huge chest as the words left my
mouth. My conclusion was that if a car tried to run him over
then it would only be the vehicle that got hurt.
"I thought you had a motorbike, Ghost Rider." I mentioned
with a challenging tone "I have only seen your black truck."
"A motorbike only takes two." Stone rebutted with a hint of
amusement to his monotonous gruff voice "If you wanted it
to be only the two of us then you should have asked."
I rolled my eyes while I quickly disclosed "No, thank you."
"You could just follow behind us or you can leave the car
here and walk to school tomorrow." Brennan suggested to
me.
I hated exercise but I knew there was no point in taking two
cars to the beach. 
"Okay." I nodded while deciding "I'll just leave my car here."
Brennan and Lana made their way around the truck to get in
at the other side meanwhile I reached for the door handle.
Stone got there first and opened the door for me before
asking "Do you need a hand up, Medusa?"
There was a significant height between the ground and the
car, but it was not a large enough one for me to struggle to
climb into the truck.
"I am not that small!" I exclaimed to the man towering over
me.
I got into the truck and sat beside Lana in the back. I looked
around at the interior of the car while sitting back in the
extremely comfortable leather seat.
The truck was lavish. Each seat was leather with spongy
armrests and headrests. Each door of the car had twelve
buttons that controlled something different.
I had no clue about cars, but I knew that this one was
expensive. I wanted to know how Stone could afford a truck
like this and a motorbike.
Stone adjusted the rear-view mirror. He tilted it so
significantly to the side that I managed to look up and see
his reflection in the mirror.
Lana looked at the back of Brennan's head when she spoke
up "How often do you go to the beach?"
The car pulled out of the school grounds onto the main road
and the large veiny hand shifted the gear stick.
"Every day." Brennan finally answered the question "I have
never gone twenty-four hours without surfing the waves."
"What happens if you do?" Lana teased "Does a sea
monster come and eat you?"
Brennan turned his head towards us, and he smiled while
explaining "Every day is a new wave. Never two days does
the same wave surface. It would be a shame to miss one."
I leant over to Lana and whispered, "I feel like what he said
is a metaphor but even I don't understand it."
The car radio blasted a song that I immediately recognised
as one by Nirvana as we continued driving along the road.
I started to tap the beat of the song on the door with my
hand as I let my gaze drift outside.
When I looked back in front of me, Stone was watching me
with an amused expression in the reflection of the rear
mirror.
"Sorry about the shitty music." Brennan complained
"Stone's car, Stone's rules as he likes to say."
My immediate reaction was to defend the music but then I
realised I would be complimenting Stone on his good taste
in music. I did not want to compliment him on anything, so I
bit my tongue and stayed quiet.
"So, what kind of music do you like?" Lana questioned
Brennan, attempting to get to know more about him.
"I don't really like music." Brennan answered sheepishly to
her.
Disliking music was probably the only flaw that Lana had
found in Brennan since meeting him. It might not have
seemed like a massive deal, but I knew it would cause
problems for them in the future.
Music was Lana's life and ambition and she wanted
somebody to share her passions with.
We were approaching the main beachfront. The palms trees
whizzed by as we passed onto a new street. The scene was
aesthetically beautiful. The sea in the distance glistened
under the sun and it highlighted the turquoise waters.
The place made me feel uneasy.
I felt sick at the realisation I was going to have to go to the
beach. I felt I was going to faint at the realisation that the
sand was going to touch my toes and that the sea air would
fill my lungs.
I was too caught up in wanting to be there for Lana that I
forgot why I avoided the beach like the plague.
My feet had not touched the sand since my mother's
passing. My body had not touched the ocean since my
mother walked into the water and never came back.
Maybe it was because of the sun beating down on me
through the window or because of the confinement of the
truck or perhaps something else but I needed out.
An abrupt uncomfortable heat started to swallow me whole
and threaten to suffocate me.
Knowing we were only a few minutes away from the beach
made me panic more so I pushed the button in the car and
rolled the windows down to try and gain my breath back.
A gust of cool wind hit my face and I let out a breath. I
closed my eyes and stuck my head out of the truck. I
focused on my breathing and tried to forget everything else.
I then sat back and my chair and let my head rest against
the seat.
My eyes opened and they instantly met Stone's in the
reflection of the mirror.
He wore a foreign expression on his face as he watched me.
It was still stern, yet it was softer than I had ever seen it.
Stone did not look away when I caught him staring. He
continued to watch me carefully.
"What are you looking at, Lurch?" I tried to remain calm as I
forced out the question from my dry throat.
The soft look in his eyes remained as the corner of his
mouth twitched upwards.
"I was just wondering if you are going in the water with your
clothes." The gravelly voice was quiet and low when he
shared his thoughts "I have not seen you anything but your
band t-shirts."
"You are one to talk." I pointed out before laughing "Do you
ever stop dressing like Danny Zuko?"
He shifted the gear stick as he let out a single rough
chuckle. Or what I assumed to be a chuckle.
To keep myself distracted from panicking, I spoke to him
again "Band tees make up ninety five percent of my
wardrobe."
"What is the other five percent?" Stone questioned,
continuing to watch me in the mirror and occasionally
glancing at the road.
"I have a dress but that is for special occasional." I told him
before remarking "I am saving it for your funeral when I get
to dance on your grave."
Stone laughed. It was a rough deep noise that shook his
chest and reverberated around the car.
It was not just a chuckle. It was a full-on laugh.
A wave of accomplishment hit me from achieving the
impossible and I could not help but smile.
I could not explain the toe-curling euphoria I got from
making him laugh. I felt my whole body tingle and my
heartbeat faster at the grumble of a laugh that was hard to
call a laugh because it was so low octaved.
I was grateful for Stone in that moment because he had
offered a distraction for me. Unconsciously or not, he had
made me forget for a moment or two.
I closed the window when I started to feel slightly better and
then I turned to Lana to mention to her "It is boiling outside.
Like Sahara Desert hot."
"Did you not get enough breeze in gym class with your t-
shirt?" A husky voice interjected from the front of the car.
"Right. That is it." I responded with a scowl before leaning
forward and closer to the driver seat while I ranted out
"What I do and what I wear is none of your concern. If I want
to traverse the halls naked then you keep your eyes down,
shut your mouth and you mind your own business."
Stone caught the irritated look in my eye.
I narrowed my eyes up at the mirror that he was watching
me through.
Silence filled the car until a grumble came from the bulky
hollow-sounding chest that sounded a lot like "Sorry."
"What was that?" I asked him so he would speak louder.
Stone said it louder, but it was not any less of a grumble
"Sorry."
"Good." I glared at him while sitting back in my chair and
affirming "You should be."
Brennan was staring at the driver seat with a dropped jaw.
"Ella, I think you have broken Stone." Brennan shared with
me "He has just laughed and apologised. He has never done
either one of those things before. Let alone in the space of
two minutes."
I looked back out the window to see where we were.
The beach was busy, and I was starting to doubt I could go
out there and pretend I was okay.
I stared at my feet that were shaking like they might flee as
soon as the car stopped moving.
The truck parked up on a grassy area before Lana and I
parted ways with the two men and left to go and get
changed in the public changing rooms
I said nothing because I was more focused on putting one
step in front of the other as I made my way towards the
changing rooms.
The changing cubicle smelt of sea salt and sunscreen. My
slightly shaky hand bolted the door to the enclosed space as
I started to remove my clothes. The walls seemed to be
closing in on me, so I rushed to get on my bikini top and my
shorts.
As I opened the cubicle door, Lana was ready waiting for
me. She smiled at me while I picked up my school bag and
towel.
"You look stunning. That bikini does wonders for your
figure." She gushed before adding "Although, I am shocked
you are not wearing black."
My matching two-piece bikini was silver and shone multiple
colours when the light hit it.
I did like the bikini even though it made me look like a
turkey in tinfoil ready to get cooked.
Lana started to fan herself as we walked along the beach
back towards where we left the guys "It is so hot."
"Tell me about it." I mimicked her action at the sweltering
heat "I feel like a snowman in a sauna."
The texture of the sand on my toes made it all too real. I
heard the ringing in my ears and I felt my chest start to
move as we continued walking on.
I clutched at my chest like it would magically make the pain
stop.
Two hands touched my arms as Lana got me to look at her.
She let out a gasp when she realised what was happening.
"How could I have been so ignorant, Ella?" Lana held onto
me tighter as guilt flooded her words "I am so sorry."
"It is okay." I tried to wave off her concern.
"It is not okay." She argued with a sigh "You have not been
here since your mom's passing."
"Lana, I am fine." I tried to convey to her "I live in Santa
Monica so I could not avoid this place forever."
She tilted her head at me before she delivered sternly "If
you want to leave then we will go. No questions asked. We
will make up an excuse and ditch the two of them and get
out of here."
I shook my head and mustered up a smile as I asked her "Do
you know what would make me feel better?"
"Ice Cream?" She suggested while matching my smile.
"Well, yes." I laughed in agreement before I gave her the
real reason "I want to see you have a good time with
Brennan on your date."
One more reassuring smile her way and she put an arm
around my shoulder while we made our way past the people
sunbathing and swimming.
We stopped when we found the two men we were supposed
to be meeting.
Lana stopped to admire Brennan.
Brennan was wearing royal blue shorts which stood out
against his dark skin. His large chest and his six-pack were
on display as he held his surfboard under his muscular arm.
"How does his six pack look wet?" Lana whispered to me
with a reddened face "He has not been in the water yet."
My attention was captured by Stone and the heartbeat I had
just gotten in control spiralled again.
Stone's bare chest was a sight to behold. He was ripped and
every inch of his chest was covered in dark inked lines.
I found myself wanting to run my finger along the markings
and wanting to know what they all meant.
I was finding it hard to look away as I let my gaze drop
lower.
Everything about this man was huge. Every inch of him was
oversized. It was like he had been engineered to be the best
of the human species.
He did not look real. His body did not look real.
My study continued to his stomach. I tried counting his abs,
but I kept losing my train of thought. It took me two minutes
to realise that he had an eight-pack.
His weight in muscle mass had to be more than double my
body weight. Maybe even three times.
Unlike Brennan's body inviting someone to look, Stone's was
more of a warning to look away.
I forcefully made myself look away from Stone but that was
short-lived.
A pair of eyes were on me. A dark pair of eyes roaming up
and down every inch of me.
If my body was not warm before then it was certainly
heated now. The black orbs left no inch of skin untouched by
their gaze.
Stone clenched his jaw and his head quickly turned to the
side as he grumbled out "Fucking hell."
I felt my face grow hot, so I looked down at the sand.
The black eyes rested on the ocean as his jaw ticked
violently. The darkened irises turned back to me and then
looked away and then they went back to me. The moment
was rapid like he could not control himself.
"Are you ready for a surfing lesson, Lovely Lana?" Brennan
asked while cutting the tension that hung in the air.
Lana looked hesitant and I knew it was because of me.
"I'm going to stay here with Ella," Lana quickly told him "You
just go ahead without us."
"No." I argued, turning to face her "You should go with him."
"Ella?" Lana's voice grew quiet when she spoke to me "Are
you sure?"
I nodded with a falsely confident smile.
Lana still did look convinced, but it was too late because
Brennan walked over and took her hand. He led her towards
the water and helped her onto his board as they reached
the ocean.
Stone was standing with his surfboard under his arm while
he watched me fixedly.
I ignored his attentive eye and placed my beach towel down
on the sand.
A tattooed hand touched mine before I could sit down. The
electric-like feeling in the spot of my skin where he had
touched made me stop moving.
The large skull-tattooed hand enveloped my own as his
whole palm wrapped around my hand.
My attention went to behind him where he had left his
surfboard in the sand. I then glanced down at the heated
touch that had swallowed my small hand.
I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.
"We are going for a walk." He ordered rather than asked
while he kept his hand on mine.
I did not argue with him. I pulled my hand away from his
gently so I could pick up my towel and place it back in my
bag.
I had no idea how he knew I needed to leave. I stared up at
him in shock as he waited for me to walk in front.
Stone stayed right by my side as we turned onto the path
right next to the beach. His head remained directed
downwards so he could keep his eyes fixed on my smaller
frame.
He never spoke as we began our walk along the promenade.
His eyes were set down on me and his jaw was ticking
continuously. He looked far too concentrated on watching
me to speak.
I started to fill the silence by blabbering. I talked about
anything and everything. I voiced everything that came to
mind.
For a whole hour, I shared my theories about the universe
with him. I spoke about everything from aliens to Russian
dynasties. From theories about assassinations of famous
presidents to the origin of the world itself, I told him almost
every single theory that I had ever had.
His attention on me never faulted at all during the time of
my theory-telling. It never strayed once. It remained steady.
He listened like he was genuinely interested in every single
syllable that left my mouth. He listened intently and keenly
because he never spoke once during my rant. He only sent
me a little smirk at the wildest parts.
When I realised how long I had spoken for, I shut my mouth
and focused on something else other than him and his bare
torso.
He broke the silence by demanding in his rough voice "Keep
talking."
I let out a small laugh "What?"
"Keep talking." He grumbled out, unhappy that I had grown
quiet.
I did not talk. I was more interested in looking at his tattoos.
"Medusa, I don't think you are going to find the answers to
the universe on my chest." He uttered quietly and gruffly
with a hint of amusement in his usually monotonous voice.
"I was not looking!" I denied before deciding to put our
height difference to some good use "Your abs are at my eye-
level. That is not my fault."
Stone's lip quirked up for a millisecond.
"Maybe I am just trying to work you out." I shared with him,
continuing to keep my chin tilted upwards so I could keep
looking up at him.
One of his dark eyebrows raised, silently asking a question.
"Brennan and Lana might be spending more time together
so we are forced to speak." I fibbed and then went on to
smile as I pointed out "I should get to know my acqenemy."
His attention was on my smile when he grunted "Your
what?"
"Acqenemy." I repeated before elaborating "It is a mashup
between acquaintance and enemy. That is us."
"I'm glad I inspire you to make new words up, Medusa." He
delivered throatily.
I stopped walking and Stone stopped too.
I took a step closer to him and watched as his eyes turned
darker. They appeared completely black as he watched me
like a lion watching its prey.
All I wanted to do was stand still and study the lines of his
tattoos, but I restrained myself.
I rose on my toes and leant close to him. I wanted to catch
him off-guard like he had caught me off-guard many times.
"You inspire me to do a lot of things." I told him, lowering my
voice into a mere whisper.
The round shoulders moved up and then down. The sharp
line of his jaw clenched, and his Adam’s apple bobbed in his
throat. The towering man hunched over me so he could
lessen the gap between us
"Like what?" He released hoarsely.
"Plan murder, mostly." I quickly affirmed with a grin before I
took a step back.
Stone released a deep breathy chuckle that still sounded
hoarse as he watched me turn and walk back the way we
had come.
One footstep of his equalled four of mine so he caught up in
no time. He lingered near my back while he followed behind
me.
"You did not have to stay with me." I told him over my
shoulder "You could have been out in the sea surfing."
He grumbled back like he was somehow offended "I will stay
with you."
I quickly looked away from him. I watched the shore as the
sea foam moved in and out and I took a breath every time
that it did.
The giant split his time between watching me and glowering
at the men that passed us. He split his attention between
looking down at me and making sure his scowl made the
passing men run away.
The waves were crashing against the shore more violently
as the sun began to slide down the sky and leave an orange
trail on its way.
A gravelly voice pulled me out of my daydream "Twenty
questions."
"Twenty questions?" I repeated while sending him a
confused look "You want to play Twenty questions with me?"
He nodded once. It was a small movement that if I blinked
then I would have missed it.
"I do want to know more about you." I accidentally said
aloud so I covered it up by joking "Keep your friends close
but your acqenemies closer."
Stone has still not taken his heated gaze away from my
face. His study continued flicking between my mouth and
my face while he waited for me to say something more.
"What if one of us doesn't want to answer a question?" I
questioned.
"Forfeit."
Curiosity picked at my insides, and I quickly replied, "What
kind of forfeit?"
His dark irises once again flicked between my eyes and my
mouth. His fixed gaze rested more upon the latter of the
two.
I tilted my head up at him and waited for an answer.
"A compliment." He finally forced out.
The deep raspy voice was husky every time he spoke. It
always sounded like he had not spoken in a while, or he had
just woken up. There was something primitive about the
way he spoke. It was like every word counted for something.
My body always reacted to his voice. My toes curled and a
shiver ran down my spine which forced my chest to edge
out a little more.
I gasped dramatically at the idea of paying him a
compliment.
"You are an evil man, Lurch." I informed with a hum before I
agreed "I'm in."
"You can go first, Medusa."
"How chivalrous." I said sarcastically before coming up with
a random question "If you were abducted by aliens and you
could only take one thing then what would you choose?"
There was no hesitation from him. He did not even take a
second to think about his answer.
"You." He grumbled out quickly and nonchalantly.
I almost tripped over my own feet. I took a breath and told
my feet to keep moving before I faced him again.
"Why?" I asked while frowning up at him
"To annoy you." Stone did not meet my eye when he
answered, nor did he when he changed the subject "What
are you most scared of?"
"Apart from getting abducted by aliens and having to spend
the rest of my life with you?" I rebutted.
His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his mouth dropped into
a small scowl.
"Apart from that." He said through clenched teeth.
The answer to his question came to mind straight away. I
looked out to the horizon where the sun was meeting the
sea and I had my answer.
I doubted he was interested in hearing about my trauma or
the tragedy in my life, so I decided to lie.
"Heights. I hate even looking at the Ferris wheel." I replied
and then added to my answer, so it seemed more legit "But
I guess some good came from it. If I went on the wheel with
Lana that night, then she would never have met Brennan."
"You would not have met me." Stone uttered so lowly that I
almost missed it.
I let out a laugh before I stuck my tongue out at him "On
second thought, maybe it is all bad."
Stone did not laugh. He searched my face like he was
looking for something.
"You are lying." The deep voice concluded after a minute of
silence.
I did not know if he meant lying about my biggest fear or
about meeting him.
My eyes wandered all of him. I did not want to compliment
his appearance or his muscles, so I looked for something
else.
"Your shorts are nice." I finally squeaked out as my eyes
landed on the plain black material.
The obsidian eyes widened infinitesimally as the mouth
usually set in a frown twitched once.
It was my turn to ask a question, so I thought long and hard
about what I wanted to ask.
I asked up to him "What is your last name?"
"Stone."
I blinked twice and then I bit my lip to stop myself from
laughing.
"Your name is Stone Stone?" I concluded.
"No." He grunted with a hint of amusement "Stone is my last
name."
"Oh." I said in surprise "So what is your first name?"
He cocked his head to the side before informing me "It is my
turn."
"Fine." I huffed, curiosity to know his name eating at me
"Ask away."
"What is your favourite book?"
"I can't choose. There is so many good books out there and
there is still so many I haven't read." I exclaimed before
finally giving somewhat of an answer "If I had to pick then it
would be my collection of Edgar Allan Poe poems. He is my
favourite writer."
A few more questions were exchanged as we walked back
along the sidewalk of the beachfront.
Stone managed to answer every question vaguely.
My questions were more fun than deep. His questions for
me were the complete opposite as he tried to squeeze all
the information out of me that he could.
"What do you want for your future?" I asked him "Does
Lurch want to get married and have kids?"
"I thought we discussed this, Medusa." He replied with no
hint of teasing on his serious expression "We are having six
kids and moving to Green Gables."
"You are so annoying." I pointed out the obvious as I glared
up at him.
It was his turn to ask a question and it looked like he had
just remembered something because a dark look crossed his
face.
His whole demeanour changed from relaxed to wrathful in a
matter of seconds. His tattooed chest puffed out and his jaw
ticked in a furious rhythm. A part of his skull tattoo that
decorated his knuckled disappeared as he clenched and
unclenched his fist.
"Does the blonde prick think you are dating him?" He
grounded out roughly.
I blinked a few times in surprise before I mumbled "It is
complicated."
"No." He growled.
"No?" I repeated, not sure what he meant.
A rumble left his chest again "No."
"He is usually nice." I tried to convey to him "He is fun, and
he is my type."
"Your type?" Stone gritted out, his stumbled jaw ticking
faster.
"Yeah." I murmured, "My type is blonde, skinny but lean with
no tattoos."
"You are describing the opposite of me." He gritted out, his
voice growing deeper.
"No." I argued, "I'm describing my ideal man."
I turned my head upwards to avoid his penetrating stare.
The sky was filled with almost every colour but blue and I
wondered how long we had been walking and talking.
"What is your first name?" I questioned.
Stone had not unclenched his fists when he gnarled "Why
are you with him?"
He was so intense. He looked ready for some kind of war.
Along with his ticking jaw, the veins in his neck, arms and
hands bulged in an angry beat.
"I don't think that is any of your business." I remarked softly.
His big burly body came to a halt. He made his way in front
of me so that he could stop me from escaping. His wide
shoulders and his large hard chest blocked my view of
everything else as he guarded the space around me.
"Why do you hate Chase so much?" I queried.
He growled at me "Why are you with him?"
"Don't you growl at me." I shouted up at him in reply and
when he growled again, I added "He is a good kisser."
Stone did not see the funny side of my comment.
The rage and the murderous fury simmered off him in
waves. His large chest was moving up and down erratically
as if he was close to losing every single hint of humanity. A
ten Richter scale earthquake would shake less than his
chest and probably appeared safer to approach as well.
"Let’s see how good he kisses when he is fucking dead." He
gnarled out determinedly.
I pushed up on my toes so that I appeared strong and taller
as I tilted my head at him.
"If he ever so much as breaths the same air as you again
then I will rip his heart out of his chest and make him eat it."
Stone barked the threat, running his hand along his jaw.
"My next question is if you are a serial killer." I deadpanned.
He continued to take deep frenzied breaths. He flexed his
hands while he looked away and closed his eyes.
"The comment Chase made about me in English class was
not okay, but I am handling it." I remarked while pointing a
scolding finger up at him "I don't need a gorilla-sized
babysitter. I fight my own battles."
Rage continued to ignite across his face as his thick jaw
clenched and his nostrils flared.
The look was so intense that it made me shiver.
A small buzz interrupted the tensed moment.
The giant took out his phone and let out a deep curse
"Fuck."
I almost jumped back from the harshness of his voice. I
widened my eyes as I looked up at him.
Stone noticed my reaction and quickly tried to soften the
roughness of his voice as he uttered "Sorry."
"Is everything okay?" I asked while motioning to his phone.
"We need to go. Now."
I followed him along the seafront while trying to match his
speed. He was striding determinedly while forgetting that I
had small legs.
He then slowed down when he noticed I was struggling to
keep up with him.
The time we had arrived back at the beach where Lana and
Brennan were, I had to fight the urge to keel over and catch
my breath while lying down.
"Where have you been?" Brennan appeared slightly vexed
when he turned to Stone and questioned him "It is half
eight."
Stone glanced at me before recollecting his surfboard from
the sand where he left it.
Lana watched the two guys as they packed away their stuff
in a hurry. I stood next to her and joined in as the two men
rushed around.
"What is going on?" Lana asked them.
Neither one of them answered her.
"I don't know what is going on." I whispered to my best
friend "Maybe their surfboards turn to pumpkins at
midnight. Or in their case half eight."
Brennan jogged over to Lana and kissed her on the cheek.
Clenching his jaw, Stone glanced at me for a few seconds
before he looked away again.
"I'm really sorry. We have to go." Brennan told Lana with a
small sympathetic smile "I'll see you tomorrow."
I offered Brennan a small wave before he walked over
towards Stone.
The giant had his sights set on me when he insisted in a
way that came out more as an order "I will take you home."
I shook my head at him "That is okay. Lana and I will
probably go and get some ice-cream anyway."
Stone gave a stiff nod as he ran a vein-struck hand through
his hair.
Both two males left the beach in a rush without an
explanation. The two large bodies became small dots in the
horizon as they rushed away into the falling night.
I noticed then that the beach was empty of people. It was
like everyone had suddenly disappeared.
Lana commented on the weirdness of their sudden
disappearance while we strolled back to the changing
cubicles.
Our conversation about them lasted a good half an hour as
we changed back into our clothes and made our way back
along the beach.
The black truck was still parked on the patch of grass where
Stone had left it when first arriving.
"Stone's truck is still here." I pointed out to her "They have
not left the beach yet."
"That is strange, huh?" Lana commented with a hum.
A gust of wind blew past us and something from my school
bag blew into the air. I quickly grabbed hold of the item
before it could blow away.
In my hand was a five-dollar bill.
I never usually carried money around with me. I did not
have the luxury of being able to carry spare money around
with me.
Then something clicked in the back of my mind as I stared
down at the five-dollar note.
It was the money I had slipped into Stone's pocket for my
lunch, and he had given it back.
Lana chose to look at the positive side of the beach visit
instead of the weird ending. She started retelling her whole
time with Brennan to me. She was far too invested in her
romance to question how unusual their getaway was.
She might not have been suspicious about them, but I was.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Eight
In my years of watching movies, I had noticed a pattern in
the romance genre. They all had an epic dressing-up scene.
The girl stands with her bestie and tries on designer clothes
while an upbeat song plays in the background.
This was not a scene from one of those movies.
"Why are we going to Chase's party again?" I groaned.
"To spend some time together." Lana was throwing a dress
across the room when she answered, "Now help me pick out
something to wear."
I stared at Lana's wardrobe with my hands on my hips "How
about you wear that pink dress with the big bow on it?"
"I've wore that to a party before." She replied, "Why don't I
just wear jeans and a top like you are?"
My eyes went to the full-length mirror and to what I was
wearing. My dark choice of outfit gave off a spy vibe. I was
confident in saying that it was more James Bond than Austin
Powers.  My ripped jeans were topped off with a black lace
top. The material that covered my chest ended at my
stomach and was close fitted which made it look like a
corset.
Clothes flew everywhere as Lana kept on searching for what
she wanted to wear. She eventually pulled out a red long-
sleeved dress and placed it against her chest to see what it
looked like.
"I forgot I bought this." She uttered to herself "It’s beautiful,
but I think it might be a little too short."
"Put it on." I insisted "Who cares if it is too short? You will
get a breeze right up your—"
"Okay." She stopped me mid-sentence "I'm putting it on."
Lana changed into the dress and proved me right that it was
amazing on her. The red colour suited her. It was apparent
she liked it too because she swirled around as she looked at
herself in the mirror.
"You look great. Brennan is missing out." I commented with
a wink.
Her light happy expression dropped slightly.
"When we told the boys about the party, it never seemed
like he cared." She delivered quietly before adding "Not
compared to the other person at the table."
The memory of Stone gnarling as we mentioned Chase's
party came to mind.
"Stone always looks pissed off." I stated before mentioning
"Maybe Brennan will show up at Chase's party. I think it
would be totally romantic. He can't stand the idea of guys
admiring your dress and trying to talk to you, so he comes
to stop it."
She went back to looking at herself in the mirror while she
replied "I think you should wear this dress instead. You are
much smaller so it would fit you better."
"No way! You have the best legs out of the two of us." I
affirmed "Plus, I can't wear red with my green hair. I will look
like a Christmas tree."
We went downstairs and said a quick goodbye to Mrs
Armstrong. She gave a few words of warning to behave
ourselves and to be careful. Which was a reasonable
response to us going to a party. The last party we both went
to ended up with Lana walking home herself as I took Chase
to the emergency room.
After leaving the house, we made our way to my little green
car and began our drive towards the beachfront. The radio
was blaring from the speakers as Lana and I sang along to
the lyrics.
"Have you been to Chase's house before?" She shouted over
the music.
"Once or twice." I answered her while tapping a beat on the
steering wheel "He plays a mean game of Mario Kart."
"Is Mario Kart code for something?"
"It is not a euphemism." I sent a frown her way as I denied
her claim "If that is what you are asking."
"Then why do you spend time with him?" Lana questioned
while I turned the car as we approached a junction.
What I wanted to tell her was the truth. I wanted to tell her
that I sometimes went to Chase's when I felt lonely.
"We are not sleeping together." I promised her "Chase and I
are just friends that sometimes go a little further. I have
fooled around with him in the past, but I haven't even kissed
him since..."
Lana turned to face me and encouraged me to continue my
sentence "Since what?"
"Since you met Brennan."
"I don't think it has anything to do with me or Brennan." She
commented before hiding her face from me as she looked
out the window.
The view was stunning from the beachfront. The lights of
the amusements from the pier were in the distance. I
studied the colours of the orangey-pink sky while I
pretended to ignore what she had said.
Lana made conversation by asking "Do you have any idea
where Brennan and Stone went on Tuesday?"
"I don't know." I told her before explaining "I never got the
opportunity to ask. Stone and I were too busy insulting each
other. Then today after the whole conversation about the
party, the giant went into one of his foul moods and looked
like he wanted to kill everyone."
"Yeah." Lana agreed but she then added, "But he still talked
to you."
"I have come to the conclusion that I hate him." I voiced.
She let out a laugh like she did not believe me "How did you
conclude that?"
"I...I... I just do." I uttered.
The feeling was too strong to be dislike. The fierce emotion
built up at the pit of my stomach when I saw him and when I
thought about him. Sometimes the burning sensation at the
core of me overtook my whole body and fuelled me.
It was earlier in English class when I was staring at him that
I discovered that I hated him.
I hated his tallness and how he towered me. I hated his
strength and largeness. I hated the smirk he wore when I
would insult him. I hated his chuckle when he called me
Medusa. I hated the heat that would rise to my skin as his
hand brushed against mine accidentally. I hated that
sometimes I thought about him and could not stop. I hated
how it was not rational and it was completely relentless. I
hated him so much.
I hated Stone as much as he hated me.
Lana's voice broke me out of my thoughts "Did your dad
give you a curfew?"
Running a hand through my hair, I replied "I can be home
anytime."
"Ella." She said softly before questioning "I am always here
for you if you needed to talk. You do know that, don't you?"
"Of course, I know that." I told her confidently before
assuring her "You have nothing to worry about, Barbie."
She stayed quiet as I parked the little green car on the
sidewalk adjacent to the largest and noisiest house on the
street.
"Let's go then, Freak Show." Lana insisted as we both
started to get out of the car.
I took a minute to admire the house as I walked up the path
towards it.
The house near the beach was huge. It was a modern two-
storey white house that appeared to have only been built
only a few years ago. It might as well have been made with
dollar bills because it radiated richness.
Even from outside of the building, I could hear the head-
banging music and the noise of drunk people clattering
about. The flashing lights and silhouettes were visible
through the large front window.
Walking into the house held the same experience. The
hallway was just as fancy as the outside with the same
theme of clean white marble walls. The house appeared
more of a showroom rather than a home. There was no
ornaments or photographs in sight.
I nudged Lana who was busy looking around the place "Are
you looking for an exit already?"
She never answered.
"It was you that wanted to come here." I pointed out.
Her voice sounded sarcastic as she remarked "I'm just
looking for the pool and the butler's quarters."
The indoor pool was situated downstairs, but I did not tell
her that. It would only have her asking more questions
about much I visited the house.
A door at the end of the corridor led to a big open-spaced
room. It was the size of my whole apartment. The walls were
white but the multicoloured lights from the disco lights
danced on the marble and lit up the place.
There were about thirty people in the room. Some I
recognised from school and most I recognised from the
football team.
Before I could think about asking Lana if she wanted to head
home, Chase was in front of us with a beer in each hand.
None of the beers in his hands were for us.
"Thanks for coming." Chase said to the both of us and then
he leaned in and kissed the corner of my mouth as he
added quietly "I'm sorry about the whole thing at gym. I'm
glad you came."
I nodded and smiled back at him as he nodded in Lana's
direction.
I had not fully forgiven him but there was no point arguing
with him over the loud sound of the music.
Lana nodded politely at him before speaking "Hi Chase. Cool
party."
"Thanks." He replied, taking a sip of his beer before he
motioned across the room "I have someone for you to
meet."
Another guy that looked similar to the quarterback himself
was standing near the large window of the living room. He
had Sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes.
Chase introduced him as Kyle.
Lana grabbed my arm and pulled me to her so that she
could whisper "I didn't know Chase was a matchmaker."
"Neither did I." I muttered back.
Kyle offered me a small smile before he waved his beer
bottle at Lana and asked, "So you are Ella's friend?"
"Yeah." She answered him shortly.
The four of us talked for a while. It was the typical small talk
and it felt extremely forced. It was not at all easy and
carefree like it was with the two men that sat at our lunch
table.
It was awkward and it had me missing aggressively
conversing with Stone.
Chase took a gulp of his beer before he spoke again "So I
have this theory."
His words had caught my attention.
I loved theories and it had me thinking that perhaps me and
the quarterback had more in common than I had originally
thought.
"You know how they say you can laugh a girl into bed." He
remarked completely seriously "I think you can play her into
bed."
I removed the last thought from my brain as soon as the
words left his beer-breathed mouth.
"I have known you three years and I have heard some pretty
bad stuff leave you mouth." I pointed out with a roll of my
eyes "But this has to trump them all."
"Not like that. Hear me out." Chase held up in his hands in a
faux surrender while he quickly tried to explain himself "You
can play music to get a girl into bed."
"How is that sentence any better than your first?" I gritted
out.
Chase faced his friend Kyle as he gave the scenario "So
picture this. You are driving your date home and you want to
score. You judge the girl and put on a song you think they
will like. It gets them in the mood."
I could not believe what I was hearing.
"What ground-breaking logic do you have behind that?" I
huffed out.
Chase shrugged before speaking again "If I wanted Lana
then I would play something like One Direction"
Lana stood there uncomfortable, not saying anything.
I made a funny face at her while motioning my head to the
boys. She smiled a little, but I could tell she was starting to
regret coming here.
"I need something strong to drink if I am going to listen to
you." I spoke but then remembered my car was parked
outside so I sighed "Never mind, I drove here."
Drinking from his two beer bottles, Chase glanced at Lana
before questioning "Do you want anything?"
"I take it there is no chance of a Piña Colada." Lana joked.
"It is a house party." Chase dismissed "Not a bar in the
Bahamas."
"Maybe the hospitality would be better there." I claimed
with a clipped tone.
The boys continued to talk while 'e and Lana stood there
making funny faces at each other and generally making fun
of them.
When he finished talking about his new sports car, Kyle
asked my friend "So what do you like to do?"
Lana started telling him about her music and song writing.
Kyle seemed uninterested and I had the urge to hit him. He
was being so rude, and Chase was trying to talk to him
while she was speaking.
Kyle replied with a bored tone "What else do you do?"
Her eyes went to me, and I deciphered her secretive look.
She wanted me to make him go away.
"Well Kyle, I don't know what you want her to say. You do
know that girls are the same as boys." I blabbered on in
hopes that my rant would scare them away "Take me for
example. I eat, I sleep and even though I am a lady, I also
fart really loudly. Like air horn loud."
That was maybe a bit too much, but it did the job because
both guys looked shocked and a bit weirded out.
I had done such a fantastic job that both Chase and Kyle left
us to go to the kitchen.
When they left our sight, Lana turned to me and laughed out
"What was that?"
"We wanted to get rid of them and I did." I shrugged with a
proud smile.
Lana let out another laugh, but her eyes were wide like she
thought I was crazy.
"Like a great philosopher said, the body is a temple." I
delivered to her like I was some omnipotent being "Do not
let horny teenage boys in the temple or near it in general."
She continued to giggle as she asked me "What great
philosopher said that?"
"Me." I said in a duh tone "Obviously."
A deep and rough voice thundered from behind me "Who
the fuck is trying to get into your temple?"
I knew I had jinxed it by admitting to myself that I had
missed him slightly.
I did not need to turn around to know who it was. Nobody
else sounded as authoritative or as commanding as the
giant.
"Too many people to count." I deadpanned while turning
around to meet his eye.
Stone had on his normal leather jacket encasing his broad
shoulders. He also had on his usual black t-shirt that fitted
tightly against his muscles which were currently bulging in
time with his ticking jaw.
"Who?" He barked.
Grinning up at him, I lied "Too many to name."
"Medusa." He growled.
His eyes had turned into two small eclipses as he roamed
me from head to toe. His study on my laced corset top with
a V-shaped neckline lasted a few more seconds than I
thought was intended.
He did not comment on my wardrobe. He had learnt his
lesson from last time.
Brennan laughed at the scene in front of him before
commenting "Ella, I think you have a bodyguard for that
temple of yours."
I continued to glare at Stone who was continuing to look at
me.
Clearing his throat, Brennan turned to the blonde girl and
greeted "Fancy meeting you here, Lovely Lana."
Lovely Lana's face had turned a shade of pink when she
pressed the question "What are you doing here?"
"I would love to say it was to see you in that dress, but it
wasn't my idea to come." Brennan informed her while
wrapping his arm around her shoulders "It was Stone's."
My attention went back to the leather jacket-wearing pain in
my ass.
"I don't remember you being invited." I remarked, tilting my
chin up and facing him.
"I don't remember giving a fuck." Stone grumbled in return.
"So, what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" 
He stepped closer and towered over me before demanding
to know "What are you doing here is my question?"
"It was Lana's idea." I chose to be honest because
expression gave away that he was not in the mood for jokes
"I did not want to come."
Stone's wide shoulders visibly relaxed.
Lana spoke up "You can play Mario Kart with him but not go
to his party. That doesn't make sense."
The giant shoulders that had just eased up suddenly tensed
again as he searched the room with a darkened gaze.
"I was mad too, Lurch. He never let me play as Luigi." I let
out a laugh as I mentioned up to him "Green is my colour."
His crazed gaze stopped searching the room when he heard
my laugh. His attention quickly ventured back down to me
and stayed tethered there.
"Yes." The gravelly voice agreed "It is."
I frowned up at him as I tilted my head. I wondered if I had
imagined the words leaving his mouth.
Noticing my confusion, Stone took a step closer and
questioned "What is wrong, Medusa?"
"If I stare hard enough at you, I might incinerate you." I
rebutted while continuing to keep my chin up and my eyes
on him "The chances are low, but I need to try everything in
an attempt to get rid of you."
He leant over so he was closer to my face and so that his
warm breath tickled the tip of my nose as he chuckled
deeply "You are going to have to try harder than that."
Underneath the rough and scary exterior of the mountain of
a man, there had to be a soft spot.
I shuffled away from Stone and moved closer to Brennan
before asking him "What is Lurch's weakness?"
Brennan smirked right at me as he answered, "I only know
of one weakness of his."
Just as I was about to ask what it was, the appearance of a
new person approaching the small circle we were standing
in stopped me from talking.
The girl's heel clicked against the floor before she came to a
stop right next to the giant man. She glanced at the other
male in the small circle before she turned her head to Stone.
"Hi, I'm Lacey." The new girl introduced herself before
drawing out her next sentence in a honeyed voice "I haven't
seen you at one of Chase's parties before."
Lacey carried herself with confidence and glamour. Her
small periwinkle coloured dress was tight against her curves
and showed off her long legs. Her hair was styled into long
blonde curls and her lips were painted a dark blue colour.
I quickly looked up at Stone to see what his reaction was to
her.
He had not even acknowledged her. He continued to keep
his firm gaze down on me.
The beautiful blonde girl was not discouraged by the silence
because she continued speaking to the well-built man.
I tuned out of the one-sided conversation and turned to face
Lana and Brennan.
Brennan had dropped his arm from Lana. His flexing hands
were by his side. His attention was directed upwards at the
ceiling as the tendons in his neck looked ready to snap.
I neared Lana and put my mouth up to ear so that she could
hear me over the music "I’m going to get a drink."
I turned on my foot before she could say anything.
A large hand caught my wrist and tugged me gently back as
I took a step away.
Stone kept his touch on me. He squeezed my hand carefully
like he was trying hard to keep me in his embrace but also
trying not to hurt me.
I looked down at where my skin had grown goosebumps
from his touch and then I peered up at him.
"Stay, Medusa." He rasped out, his dark eyes on me as the
half-plead half-demand left his mouth.
Watching a girl flirt her way into his mind was not on my list
of things I would like to see. Leaving and not standing like
the odd one out was at the top of that figurative list.
Nothing came to mind that I could reply. I could not muster
up any words, so I pulled myself out of his grip and walked
towards the kitchen.
Chase and his friends were taking shots when I arrived.
They were all huddled around the island counter and
cheering as they downed the full glasses of alcohol.
The smell of whisky hit me, and it lingered in my nose as I
took a step closer. The smell was a reminder of my father
and how he drank the whisky to forget about me and the
memory of my mother.
I was reminded that I had nobody to go home to. I was
reminded that nobody cared.
I sauntered past the group of people towards the counter
full of drinks. I picked up a bottle with my shaky hand and
turned the lid with a quick sudden movement.
Twenty minutes later and I was perched on the marble
counter and entertaining myself in a drinking game.
I poured myself a shot of straight alcohol every time a jock
mentioned football. I poured myself a shot every time
someone hinted, I had slept with Chase. I poured myself a
shot every time I thought about how empty and lonely my
house was and how I was.
My vision grew slightly blurred and the room felt like it had
tilted as I jumped off the countertop.
"Do you boys never find something else to talk about?" I let
out an irritated sigh before I increased the volume of my
voice as I addressed the group of jocks "Don't you just get
bored of talking about your last hook-up or your last
touchdown?"
Chase's head shot up when heard my voice. His eyes went
to my face and then to the counter behind me where the
empty bottle of whisky was.
"Ella?" Chase softened his voice as he addressed me "Are
you drunk?"
"No!" I tried to deny but my words were coming up in
hiccups "What a ridiculous thought. Why would you think
that?"
One of his friends hollered from beside him "She won't be
any use to you tonight."
I stuck the middle finger up in the direction the guy was
standing that had said it.
The room was spinning like a broken carousel, and
everything looked like it was dancing to a rather fast hip hop
track.
"How much have you had to drink?" Chase spoke louder and
he almost sounded concerned.
Some other guy to the left of me started speaking "I heard
she was hanging around with the god."
I figured I had misheard him because of the ringing noise in
my ear.
"She is drunk." A new male voice whooped to the rest of the
guys standing around the counter "Ask her some
questions..."
A different jock shouted the question in my direction "Who
do you think is the hottest at school?"
"I will tell him." I answered, pointing an unsteady finger at
Chase and motioning for him to come closer "I need to
whisper it to you. It is a secret."
Chase rushed over to me. He placed his hands on my elbow
and tried to steady me on my feet.
"You shouldn't have drunk so much, Ella." He mumbled his
words like he did not want anyone else but me to hear them
"Do you want to sleep it off upstairs?"
I rose on my toes and whispered "Stone."
"What?" He said a few seconds later 
"It is Stone." I muttered, unable to keep the words to myself.
He pulled away from me when he realised what I meant. He
dropped his hands off me and I stumbled backwards slightly.
The quarterback walked back to his friends and left me
standing there.
"I bet she is crazy in bed." One of Chase's friends hooted
"She looks like a little freak in the sheets."
I watched them all as they fell into a chorus of laughter.
"She is. Just like the Joker." Chase said to them before
laughing "Get it because she has green hair."
A rush of heat shot up my toes to the top of my head. A
streak of fury made its way into my body, and I suddenly
felt the urge to scream.
"If I am the joker then does that make you Catwoman?" I
delivered loudly so that everyone including the quarterback
himself could hear it.
"I don't get it" A random guy commented.
I stumbled my way across the kitchen until I was standing in
front of Chase. I looked up at him with an expression full of
disgust.
"Catwoman because you are a pussy." I sneered.
The crowd went wild with laughter. A cheer of Oh’s and ah's
filled the air.
"You are too scared to be yourself. You are always trying to
be the big man and centre of attention." I pointed up at the
blonde man that I once considered my friend "You are
always trying to be something you are not, and I feel sorry
for you."
Chase studied the room and his friends before he sent me a
bored look.
"I would never sleep with Chase Andrews." I delivered to the
whole of the audience that I had gained "I would never even
touch him with my pinky finger again. I might be the joker,
but I am certainly not joking."
The room was filled with whoops and cheers from the
football team.
"I thought she was your girl, Chase." A male voice called out
through his laughter.
I uttered lowly so that it was only me and the quarterback
that could my words "Just because I sucked your dick a few
times does not make me yours."
Every person in the room was still howling with laughter as I
left.
The room was spinning, and I felt like I was spinning with it.
I was nearly out of the kitchen when I took a stumble. I
grabbed ahold of the doorframe and tried to regain my
balance.
Lana's blonde hair and rosy cheeks came into view when
she rushed over to me.
"Where have you been?" She questioned loudly so she could
be heard over the music "Stone has been looking all over for
you. I think he has had enough of being a third wheel."
"Was he not with that girl?" I hiccupped my sentence.
"He didn't even speak to her once." Lana informed with a
laugh "He got rid of her with one glare."
A giggle escaped me as I voiced "Lurch is such a meanie."
My best friend studied my current predicament. She studied
the way I was hugging the doorframe and holding on to it.
"Are you okay?" Lana frowned while the rhetorical question
left her
"I want to dance." I waved off her concern and whined "Can
we dance? Let's go dance."
Nobody else was dancing but I wanted to dance.
Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "You are drunk!"
I unwrapped myself from the doorframe and let out a cry.
"I am such a terrible friend. I can't drive you or myself
home." I told her while I staggered over to her and wrapped
my arms around her "I'm sorry. I just wanted to forget for a
while."
Her arms wrapped around me, and she rested her chin on
my shoulder as she murmured
"What is going on, Ella?"
I was about to tell her the truth but a familiar face across
the room caught my attention, so I raced towards him.
"Brennan!" I shouted excitedly while I made my way through
the crowd to him.
He stopped when he saw me. His eyes scanned my clumsy
movements before he let out a curse.
"You came here for Lana." I cooed up at him before
hardening my tone "You better take care of her, or I will
destroy you."
Brennan let out a small, strained laugh.
"Just not right now because I feel like I am on the spinning
teacups." I told while holding onto my head.
The surfer murmured, "He is not going to be happy about
this."
I continued smiling up at Brennan when I admitted "I like
looking at you."
"W-what?" His voice shook slightly when he questioned me.
"I like looking at you." I repeated.
"Fuck." Brennan mumbled under his breath "He is going to
kill me."
"I am not attracted to you!" I quickly disclosed in the nicest
way possible "I just like looking at your face like I like
looking at a painting."
His blue eyes blinked before he replied, "Thank you, I
guess."
"You are welcome." I told him with a lazy grin.
Brennan was huge and he was all man. He was at least six
foot four and he had to have weighed over two hundred
pounds.
I never noticed how big Brennan was. It was probably due to
my fascination with his friend and how my eyes always
seemed to be on Stone.
The room would not stop spinning. It kept going around and
around and around.
"Where is Stone?" I questioned, realising that his attractive
face was not in the room.
"He was looking for you." Brennan informed before he
added distractedly "Although, I don't think we should let him
see you."
Lana stood beside Brennan, and she was watching me
worriedly.
I hated the concern on her face, so I looked away at
something else.
The first thing that caught my eye was the huge muscular
figure ducking to get through the door.
His eyes scanned the room like he was on some sort of
mission. The black eyes then zoned in on me and his gaze
stayed in place.
"Lurch! You are here!" I shouted eagerly before I took off on
a run towards the outraged giant.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Nine
"Where have you been?" I asked as I stared up at the furious
face.
Stone's black eyes were frantically moving around my body
as he watched me away from side to side.
"I have been looking for you." He grumbled, his neck veins
bulging out so much that they looked close to exploding.
The floor started to feel closer as I felt myself drift to one
side. I raised my hands upwards and grabbed the first thing
I could to stop myself from falling.
The closest thing just happened to be Stone's chest.
My hands fisted his black t-shirt, and I kept them there as I
felt what was underneath. Even with a layer of material
between my palms and his skin, I could feel his generously
sized muscles.
I fisted the material of his shirt so tightly that his chest
tattoos were on display.
I looked up at him to see him watching me closely.
His gaze was so intense. His eyes always shone when I
looked into them but now it was as if they had a whole
galaxy of stars swirling around in the black orbs.
"What are you doing?" He rasped out, his voice hoarse.
I wanted to bring him more towards me so I could see his
tattoos closer.
I just wanted him closer.
"What are your tattoos of?" I questioned before reaching out
and running a hand over the exposed skin "They are like
symbols, and I want to study them."
Stone cocked his head and reached down to grab gently a
hold of my hips as I started to sway again.
"I want to study them like that guy from the DaVinci Code." I
exclaimed and then I lowered my voice so I could whisper
up to him "Although, I don't think Robert Langdon wanted to
lick the symbols like I want to."
His large, calloused hands moved up from my waist to cup
my face. His touch was gentle and warm as he held onto my
face and brushed his thumbs against my cheeks. 
I wanted to relax into his touch.
He lowered himself so that his rough demanding voice was
audible to me as he spoke "Who gave you the drink?"
"I have two hands." I told him while wiggling my fingers in
his direction "I got the drink myself."
The heat of his touch made me feel all warm and fuzzy. It
made me feel protected, so I let my eyes shut for a second
or two.
Before I knew what he was doing, Stone leaned down and
moved his strong arms around me. He wrapped one
muscular arm around the back of my knees and the other
around my waist. He hoisted me up and cradled me to his
chest.
"Oh." I let out a small laugh in surprise as I looked at his
face because I was not used to being at eye level with him
"What are you doing?"
"Taking you home." His rough voice informed me.
I did not feel tired anymore. I peered back down at the
ground and felt like it was flying.
"I’ve never been to the top of the Empire State Building
before." I whispered as he adjusted me, so that I was more
comfortable and relaxed in his arms "But I imagine this is
what it feels like."
His expression was serious and full of concern as he walked
out of the room with me in his arms. He clutched me close
to his massive chest and I rested my cheek on his left pec
while I listened to the hard erratic beating of his heart.
My attention was not on where we were going but rather on
his face.
I reached out and ran my finger along his jawline and then it
strayed to the edge of his mouth.
"Why does it never move?" I muttered while keeping my
index finger perched on his lip.
His dark eyes connected with mine as he grunted "What
doesn't move?"
"I want to see you smile." I frowned up at him as I replied.
All of a sudden, the corner of his mouth that was under my
touch twitched upwards.
I pulled back my finger in surprise and let out a giggle as I
realised, he had half-smiled.
His gaze softened like molten rock as he listened to my
sounds of amusement.
We were approaching Lana and Brennan when I finally got
over the shock of his smile and spoke again.
"I’m like an ant compared to you." I whispered up to the
giant "Am I really that small?"
Stone let out one gruff word "Yes."
I let my body further relax into the thick muscly arms while I
listened to Brennan and Stone's conversation.
"You were the one that drove me here and Ella was the one
that drove Lana here." Brennan pointed out "We’re
stranded."
The deep voice seemed threatening as he affirmed "I am
staying with her."
A few more points of argument later and they had come to
some sort of agreement. I did not know what I was because
I was too busy poking the scowl on the giant's face.
Lana took a step closer to the both of us and her expression
turned stern as she scolded "Ella, you need to go to bed and
sleep it off."
"Sleep what off?" I asked in the form of a hiccup "I just want
to dance."
Stone let out a grumble of disapproval before he began
walking away with me in his arms. I started wiggling around
to try and escape his hold, but his response was to hold me
tighter.
"I want to dance." I complained while I threw my arms up
and my head back in surrender.
He sent me a stern look as he rebutted fervently "I want you
sober and safe."
"Please." I pleaded up to him and gave my best puppy dog
eyes and a pout.
His eyes went to my eyes and then my mouth and then he
kept his attention on anything else but me as he growled
"Medusa."
I exaggerated a growl back "Lurch."
"Are you trying to intimidate me?" He questioned after a
cavernous rumble resembling a laugh left his chest "You just
look cute."
"I am not cute!" I exclaimed, "I am Ella!"
Stone shook his head once. His usually emotionless
expression contorted to one that almost looked like concern
as he peered down at me.
All that went around in my head was the question of why he
was doing this and why he cared so much about me getting
home safe.
"I can look after myself." I delivered softly.
He did not answer. He only sent a glare my way that meant
there was no point in me arguing with him.
He was taking me home and that was final.
The smell of whisky on my clothes made me feel sick. It
made me feel like I was just as worse as my father.
I remembered watching my father turn up to my mother's
funeral wasted and falling all over the place. The priest at
the church even suggested we remove him. I vowed then
never to end up in a state worse than him.
I had broken the promise I had made myself.
I guess both my father and I's promises were like the bottles
of alcohol in our apartment. They were completely and
utterly empty.
We were nearly at the front of the door when someone
shouted my name.
The big burly body carrying me stilled before turning around
and facing the new voice.
Chase ignored the fact that I was cuddled into the chest of
the giant because he only looked at me when he apologised
"Ella, I am sorry."
Stone's eyes grew darker, and his jaw clenched when he
looked down at me and uttered gruffly but softly "What did
he do to you?"
The expression on his face was one that could give grown
men nightmares. His tensed body and his terrifying scowl
promised bloodshed if he did not like the next thing that left
my mouth.
"I called him Catwoman." I giggled in reply instead of telling
him what really happened.
"Ella." Chase said again.
"Sorry I couldn’t be much use to you tonight." I remarked
sarcastically as I turned my head towards the quarterback
"Have a nice party, Catwoman."
The arms around me were shaking. The veins bulged and
the muscles flexed as he held on tighter to my body.
"Much use to him?" Stone thundered before snarling in the
direction of the blonde guy "What did you say to her?"
Eyes widening, Chase pleaded "Ella, Come on—"
Stone took one large step forward. Then he stopped. He
tilted his head downwards towards me cradled on his chest
and he ceased moving towards Chase.
"You are so fucking lucky she is in my arms right now." The
furious man gnarled.
The blonde footballer ignored him and tried again to speak
to me "Ella."
"Silence!" I shouted at him like some medieval king "I do not
wish to hear from you."
Savagely, Stone remained frozen in place with his wrathful
gaze staying on his target. The heat of his fury only stopped
when I tugged at his shirt and gained his attention.
"Can we go now?" I whispered.
The giant offered me a silent nod. He offered the other
person in the hallway a dark look that felt a lot like a threat
and a promise rolled into one.
I could feel the obsidian gaze on my face as he carried me
out of the house and down the driveway. He held me tightly
like I was some sort of precious possession that he did not
want to lose.
Everything was dark outside. I could only make out a few
silhouettes of trees and cars.
I was not in my right mind, but I was pretty sure the man
carrying me dipped his mouth close to my head and
brushed my temple with his lips as he continued his stride
towards the black truck.
"Are you sure we can't stay a little longer?" I yawned "I want
to dance."
"No."
"But—" I began to argue.
"No." He grumbled again.
"Do you always get your own way?" I asked, my words
muffled because my mouth was against his chest
"No." He spoke through gritted teeth "I don't."
I tilted my chin up and looked at him.
"If I always got my own way then you would not touch him.
You would not smile at him. You would not look at him." He
grounded out roughly like the words eating away at his
insides "Fuck. I don't want you to even think about him."
The night sky was dark so I could not see his face clearly. I
wondered if his jaw was clenched, or his eyes had grown
blacker.
An image of him killing me and throwing me in a ditch came
to mind and I shivered in his embrace.
"Are you going to murder me, Lurch?" I asked quietly
I then facepalmed because I had called my potential killer a
nickname that I used to insult him.
Stone released a single chuckle that shook his chest "I will
not kill you, Medusa."
"You promise?"
"I promise." He lowly recited without hesitation.
I swore I heard him mumble something under his breath, but
I did not stretch up high enough in his arms to catch his
sentence.
"What did Chad say to you?" The deep voice spoke up
again, his tone tyrannical.
"Chad?" I repeated as I bit my lip to stop myself from
laughing "Do you mean Chase?"
"You said you were sorry you were not much use to him."
Stone's words were so low that they were dangerous as he
pushed them out of his clenched jaw "What did he said to
you?"
To avoid him going on a murdering spree, I kept my
explanation brief "It was nothing serious. He was just
showing off in front of his friends."
"At your expense."
"I handled it." I replied with a sigh.
The animalistic noise of disapproval that shook his chest
and reverberated through me indicated that he was not
happy.
We arrived at his truck parked a few minutes away from the
large beach house. Stone took all my weight on one arm as
he opened the car door and carefully placed me inside the
passenger seat.
His large vein-struck hand reached over my body, and he
fastened my seatbelt for me. He then removed his leather
jacket from his shoulders and placed it over my chest.
I rested my head back against the car seat as I watched him
round the car and sit in the driver's seat.
"I could walk home." I suggested to him before pointing out
"You should go back and enjoy the party."
He turned his head quickly to the side so he could send me
a frown.
"I only came for you." He uttered lowly, staring straight
ahead as he turned the engine on.
"You are dragging me away from a perfectly good party." I
told him with a small laugh "You are such a party pooper,
Ponyboy."
"Ponyboy?"
"From The Outsiders." I explained as I snuggled into his
leather jacket "You look like you should be in some sort of
gang like The Greasers. A motorbike gang specifically."
Stone chuckled again "Only you would make book
references while you are drunk."
"Where is your motorbike?" I sighed "When am I going to
get to ride it?"
"When you are sober."
My attention dropped down to the veins in his arms as he
moved the gearstick. Then my gaze dropped even lower,
and my eyes widened.
"Woah!" I said while pointing at what had caught my
attention.
His eyes flicked to the side, and he looked concerned as he
queried "What?"
"Look at your feet! They are humongous!" I exclaimed
before I voiced "What size are they?"
Stone glanced my way again before answering "Size
fourteen."
I giggled "You know what large feet mean."
A deep strangling noise left the bottom of his chest.
"It means large socks." I replied before covering my mouth
and trying to control my belly laugh.
"Ella." He said in a dark tone of warning.
The car turned the corner as I sat curled into the seat with a
grin like the Cheshire Cat.
His gaze dropped to my lips before he questioned "What has
you smiling?"
My smile grew and I leaned closer to the driver's seat as I
drawled out "Your voice sounds so sexy when you say my
name."
Stone's black eyes widen until they appeared like two large
obsidian crystals.
"Have you always had such black eyes?" My voice came out
quieter than I had intended
"The only colour I have seen in them is when I see the
reflection of my green hair."
He focused on the road when he responded, "Where do you
live?"
I let out a sigh before I told him the address.
"Why did you drink so much?" He asked, his tone growing
more serious.
"I wanted to forget." I rested my head on the window and
watched the horizon of the sea as I admitted to him "Even
just for a night."
"Forget what?"
"Everything" I whispered and then shook myself out of my
sad state before remarking "Did you know us humans have
explored and understood more on Venus and Mars than our
own ocean?"
The concerned black eyes stole a glance my way.
"We have no idea what goes on under there." I voiced while
looking out to the sea "We never will."
"Are you scared of the water?" Stone asked.
"Yes. Metaphorically, I am." I uttered quietly "It is what the
beach unlocks for me. I'm not scared of the jellyfish if that is
what you were thinking."
Silence filled the car, and I felt my eyes start to grow heavy.
"Have you got any other facts about the ocean?" Stone's
deep voice spoke up again.
I knew that he knew I needed a distraction.
"The male anglerfish is much smaller than the female. When
he takes an interest in a girl anglerfish, he shrinks even
smaller until he is just a sperm. He implants himself into the
woman and will stay there for the rest of its life,
impregnating her whenever he wants." I rambled on "She
will be none of the wiser until she starts having little fish
babies."
Stone raised an eyebrow as he watched me in his peripheral
vision.
"Usually that fact would creep me out." I admitted, "It still
does but I feel a lot better now."
When he focused back on the road, I decided to switch on
his radio which had a CD inside. I started to sing along to
the music, laughing when I slurred on some of the syllables.
"You have good taste in music." I confessed, "I wanted to tell
you that when we went to the beach, but I didn't really want
to compliment you."
"I know you did." He revealed, taking another glance my
way before he looked at the road ahead.
The black truck parked up on the sidewalk outside of the
miserable-looking apartment building.
The day my parents bought the apartment was one I
remembered vividly. My mother was not a massive fan of
being tied down to one place. That is my parents bought the
small cheap apartment so that we had more money to
spend on vacations. My mother even insisted on not buying
much furniture.
My mother always said home was not a place but rather a
person. Her logic was that it did not matter where you chose
to live. It was all about the people you had around you.
If my mother's philosophy was right, then I had no home.
I removed my seatbelt and turned to the driver before
delivering "Thank you for the ride, Lurch."
His reply is not heard because I quickly get out of the car
and closed the door. I made it a few rocky steps before my
knees started to feel like jelly.
My legs gave in, and I was about to drop to the floor like a
sack of potatoes until two arms caught me.
Stone once again hoisted me up so that I returned to being
carried bridal-style by him. He held me closer than the first
time. His grip was secure and comforting.
"Be careful." He gritted out, his jaw continuing to tick.
He carried me like I was weightless as he made his way up
the one flight of stairs.
"Am I not heavy?" I mumbled into his chest.
"I lift weights four times the heaviness of you daily for a
warm-up exercise."
I tilted my head and mumbled in astonishment "Really?"
"You are as light as a feather." He remarked, a hint of
amusement to his deep voice "Maybe because you are so
small."
"I’m not that small!" I argued as he gently set me down at
my front door.
His hands remained on my hips in support as held me up
and questioned "Do you have your keys?"
I brought my hands up to my chest and squeezed my boobs.
I felt my phone in my bra but not my keys.
"Kermit has my keys." I whispered in realisation.
"You left your keys in the car?" Stone summarised.
I nodded before bending down. I felt my butt brush his leg
as I turned over the doormat and retrieved my spare key.
"That was a close one." I laughed in relief as I jiggled the
keys happily.
The tendons in his neck looked like they were going to snap
as he rubbed his hand along his stubbled jaw and cursed.
"You keep a key under the mat?" His voice grew deeper and
more vexed as he lowered his head and scolded "Do you
know how dangerous that is?"
"It’s okay." I told him before I started fumbling with the lock
on the door "A few people have told me that if I got
kidnapped then the kidnappers would end up returning me
in the first few minutes because I am so annoying."
Silence hung in the small space between my body and the
huge muscular one.
"Not funny." Stone grunted, "Not funny at all."
I pushed the door open and went stumbling inside. I was
about to dive headfirst onto the floor, but Stone caught me
for the hundredth time and lifted me up.
He held onto me by my underarms brought me up to his
chest so that I had no choice but to wrap my arms around
his neck and my legs around his waist.
"This was not how I expected to meet your parents." He
grumbled softly.
"You don't need to worry about that." I assured him before
shouting into the vacant house "Honey, I’m home."
Stone scowled at the empty space of my apartment when
he grunted "Are your parents on vacation?"
"Something like that." I replied vaguely.
His expression hardened further when he noticed my
change in mood. His lip dropped further into a frown when
he noticed me trying to hide my face away from his view.
"You are not putting that key back under your mat." He
commanded rather than ask of me
"It is not safe."
"There is nothing valuable here for a burglar to steal." I
assured but then something came to mind, so I added to my
original argument "Except my collector’s edition of Pride
and Prejudice. On second thought, I will hide the key better."
"Where is your room?" He questioned as serious as ever.
I grinned up at him while wiggling my eyebrows
suggestively.
"You are the most attractive man ever, but I can't have sex
with you." I delivered to him with a huff "I'm wearing a
mustard-coloured bra that still has stains from the taco I ate
last week. I thought that if Chase tried anything, it would
scare him away."
"Where is your room?" He ordered to know again but he
growled the words this time.
I pointed down the corridor and he nodded once before
storming down the hallway with me still in his embrace.
Not caring what he thought, I cuddled into his chest for
warmth.
"I wish you weren't the sexiest guy alive." I whispered
absentmindedly as I stared up at him.
Stone's eyes widened slightly, and they shone with an
unknown emotion as he quickly turned his head downwards
so that he could look at me.
"I can't be attracted to you." I voice aloud although it was
more to myself.
His jaw clenched and the strict line of his jawbone grew
even harsher. A strand of black hair fell onto his forehead as
he grounded his molars together.
"Why not?" He tried to soften his voice as he asked the
question.
"We are rivals. We are acqenemies and we can't stand each
other." I pointed out "We hate one another."
He watched me closely as I yawned then tilted my head
upwards so that I could see him better.
"I wish you were an ugly little troll." I admitted to him and
then I let out a cry "Although, I don't think that would make
a difference."
"Why not?"
I smiled while I reached up and ran my finger along his
bottom lip "Can I tell you a little secret?"
The giant nodded.
"Sometimes I like talking to you." I admitted quietly while
dropping my gaze to my hands  "I like your company when
you are not mad at me."
His expression changed suddenly. The features on his face
remained hard and defined but the emotion he wore was
nothing but soft.
"I am never mad at you." He affirmed with a gruff sigh
"Fuck, I could never be mad at you."
Another yawn escaped me as I spoke again "I think that I
might secretly like your personality, and I have no idea why.
You are so annoying."
Stone chuckled and I basked in the warm rumble of a sound.
I wrapped my arms and legs around him tighter as I listened
to the deep noise in his chest.
"You are going to regret everything in the morning,
Medusa."
I stretched up and placed my chin on his shoulder before
murmuring "I probably won't remember anything."
My messy room that appeared like a bomb had gone off in a
library welcomed us.
The goliath guest looked around the area as if he was trying
to memorise every part of the room before he left.
Stone walked over to my bed and pulled back the sheets. He
gently set me on the bed so that my head carefully rested
again the pillow. He pulled the bedsheets over me and made
they were covering up to my neck.
I looked up at my ceiling. The same ceiling, I peered up at
when I cried myself to sleep at night.
"Can you stay a while longer?" I whispered into the
darkness.
The bed creaked and drastically shook when the colossal
sized man sat down on the mattress next to where I lay.
I reached out into the dark with my hand and it quickly got
enveloped by a larger hand.
A tingly feeling like electricity danced along me as Stone
gently caressed the skin on my palm.
We stayed like that for what felt like an hour. We stayed in
silence as the large hand caressed my own and I looked into
the darkness and wished that I could see his face.
"Why are you with him?" The deep demanding voice spoke
up after a long while of quiet.
"I don't know." I replied which was truer than the first
answer I gave him at the beach "Maybe it was to make
myself feel less lonely."
The heated tingles continued to tickle my hand. They also
touched my face when the other hand belonging to the man
on my bed softly moved a piece of hair so that it was tucked
behind my ear.
"You smell like leather and engine grease. Like a really
manly smell." I admitted when he neared to move my hair "I
love it."
Stone never said anything. He continued to hold my hand in
the dark.
"Do I smell like anything?" I voiced when did not speak.
"Apples. You smell like apples." He admitted, his voice
deepening and roughening "I ate five today."
"You ate five Ella's?" I shrieked in horror.
Another chuckle left him as he tried to order sternly "Go to
sleep, Medusa."
I smiled in his direction. I let my smile grow wider when I
remembered that he could not see me in the dark.
"You have so many things to tease me about now, Lurch." I
mentioned.
His fingers intertwined with mine and I held onto his hand.
"We will be back to being acqenemies the next time I see
you, but I want you to know that I am grateful for tonight." I
delivered softly "Thank you."
"You never need to thank me for anything." Stone returned
gently yet firmly.
I felt my smile grow in size.
"I'm just glad I got to see Medusa's lair." The gravelly voice
added.
I let the side of my face fall onto my pillow when I teased
him "Are you not going to stay and give me a bedtime
story?"
A few minutes later, he cleared his throat and grumbled
faintly "There once was a girl with puke coloured hair—"
"It is not puke coloured!"
"Who said it was about you?" He rebutted with a hint of
amusement in his tone before he continued "She lived in a
tower where she left her key under the doormat. She was
not the most sensible girl."
I interrupted him "You are so terrible at telling a story."
He let out a husky laugh "What were you expecting? A
fairytale?"
"No. I am not." I breathed out a sigh "It is okay though. I
never really wanted a Prince Charming."
My eyelids grew heavier. I let my eyes shut and bathed in
the comfort that came with knowing he was there.
"I can't keep you in my lair forever." I whispered again into
the dark "You can go."
The room went quiet for a minute or two. The silence
stretched on and on until it shattered.
"I don't want to leave you." The low raspy voice delivered
"Not ever."
As the sound of footsteps went quieter and quieter until
there was nothing, I convinced myself that I had imagined
him saying that. I told myself that it was part of my wildest
dreams.
 
 
 
 
Chapter Ten
"I hate you." I sneered at Stone over my shoulder.
The reason for my hate was his grade on the essay. I had
shown him my A-plus in large red writing and he mimicked
my action by showing me his paper. He had gotten the
same result as me and he looked very smug about it.
"Who did you even write about?" I asked while I turned
around in my chair in defeat.
His monotonous voice was filled with a hint of triumph when
he replied "Lady Macbeth."
I swivelled around and faced the back of the English class so
I could glare at him "I should receive some credit. I
suggested that character for you."
"Who did you write about?" He rebutted.
My essay was about my personality being similar to Puck's. I
had taken his suggestion of the character, but I did not want
to admit that to him, so I lied and gave him the name of a
random Shakespeare character.
"Show me your essay then." He said, unconvinced by my
fibbing.
"Fine. I did write about Puck." I quickly admitted before
defending "I was going to write about him before you even
mentioned it."
Stone's lip twitched upwards.
Before I could tell him where he could stick his A graded
paper, Mr Dankworth stood up from his desk and silenced
the class.
"I am sorry about the late marking." Mr Dankworth
apologised "I was too busy reading that I had forgotten to
mark your papers but at least you have them now.
"I wish he hadn't marked them." Lana spoke as she looked
down at her results "I got a C. Stupid Shakespeare and
stupid Dankworth."
I pretended to send her a glare her way "You better not be
insulting my soulmate like that."
A deep and aggravated noise came from behind me but
there was no paper crushing. That was due to the fact that
he had already used up all his notepads with his aggressive
origami.
Brennan half coughed and half laughed "Why do you think
the old English teacher is your soulmate?"
The whole thing was an inside joke Lana and I had started
since we first began Mr Dankworth's class. I definitely did
not believe the sixty-year-old happily married gay man was
my soulmate. It just gave us a few giggles during class to
keep us entertained.
"Why not?" I said while biting my lip to stop myself from
laughing "Older men have experience."
"Experience of what?" The deep voice belonging to the giant
bit out "The care home?"
Lana felt the need to speak up and explain "Ella does not
really think that. We have just had this joke since the start
of freshman year."
Mr Dankworth interrupted our conversation by pointing to
his PowerPoint "Today we are going to be talking about
modern day interpretations of Shakespeare. In movies,
shows and books, William Shakespeare's work has inspired
many stories. Can anyone name any?"
Brennan then started to quietly sing "You're just too good to
be true, I can't take my eyes off of you"
Lana looked mortified as she whispered to me "Did you get
him to do this?"
"What are you talking about?" I quietly said back.
"Pulling a Heath Ledger like we talked about that day in the
changing room. About him singing on the bleachers." She
rambled out with widened eyes "Oh my god. Did you
convince him to sing in front of the class?"
"You mean the conversation we had weeks ago?" I asked
while laughing at her face "No, you lovesick idiot. He is
meaning Ten Things I Hate About You is a Shakespeare
inspired movie."
Brennan had stopped singing so he could lean over his desk
and tell her "Don't worry. I am not pulling a Heath Ledger as
you called it. Not yet anyway. I will have to until I am on a
football field."
"You don't play football so I am safe." She laughed
nervously.
I side glanced Brennan while begging "Please don't. You
singing those two lines were enough. My ears still have not
recovered."
Mr Dankworth was looking over in our direction as he called
"Is everything okay over there?"
"Yes, Mr Dankworth." I replied for all of us "We were talking
about how Ten Things I Hate About You is a Taming of the
Shrew retelling"
"Very good, the four of you." He praised before returning to
his lesson.
"Talking about romance films, they are doing a showing of
The Notebook at the drive-in cinema at Greenway Park
tonight. " Lana mentioned before she purposed, "I think we
should all go."
Brennan agreed and surprisingly so did Stone.
"Wait. Why do we have to go?" I motioned to myself and
then Lurch behind me "It kind of sounds like a date. Don't
you two want some alone time?"
Lana shook her head "Brennan and I have been out a lot
lately and I miss hanging out with you."
They had been out a lot. It had been a month since we met
the two of them at the pier and Lana had been on a few
dates with Brennan. On those few dates, he always
disappeared without an explanation before nine o'clock.
Sometimes Lana and I would make up theories about them
being special agents that only worked at night. My theory
was that they were some sort of night-ninjas.
Stone had become a permanent fixture in my life. More
accurately a permanent pain in my ass. It was hard to think
of a time when I did not trade insults with him every two
minutes. 
"You have to come, Ella." Lana pleaded before she
whispered, "You love The Notebook."
"Fine." I bit out, not commenting on my love for that movie
"I will go."
"Don't forget the tissues." Stone's gruff voice tickled my
neck, and he leaned forward and teased me.
"I have never cried at that movie!" I lied as I glared at him
over my shoulder "How do you even remember that
conversation? It was ages ago."
He ignored my question and swiftly moved on by taunting in
his deep voice "Just be careful. I heard water melts the
wicked witch of the west."
"I have green hair. Not green skin," I pointed out before
turning around and glaring at him "But you are going to
have blue skin in a minute when I strangle the air out of
your lungs, Ponyboy."
Stone smirked and rested back in his chair as he pointed out
"You have already called me Ponyboy."
The unspoken rule of our game was we could only use an
insult once. If one of us repeated a reference, then the other
called it out. The names Medusa and Lurch were the only
ones allowed to be used all the time. They were the
constants.
"When did I call you that?" I asked, unsure if he was telling
the truth or not.
He was no longer amused as he leaned closer and grumbled
angrily "When I had to tuck you into bed because you drank
too much."
It had been three weeks since the night of the party and he
had never mentioned it once. I never asked him what had
happened that night.
The whole event was a haze. I figured that it was probably
selective amnesia and I had done something embarrassing
the night of Chase's party.
"You could have just left me at the party if you didn't want
to help me." I informed him.
His eyes widened slightly, and he almost appeared taken
aback by words. He blinked once while his jaw ticked at a
steady beat.
"There was no fucking way in hell that I was leaving you."
He affirmed with a growl like it was some sort of law to
himself.
I turned around in my chair and ignored the hammering of
my heart against my rib cage.
Lana leaned sideways so she could quietly question "What is
he talking about?"
"I don't know." I shrugged, "He is delusional."
The bell rang throughout the room, and everyone collected
their things before rushing out of the classroom. The four of
us also packed up our things before we joined the cramped
space of the hallway.
Stone was the only person that stood out among the crowd
because he was taller and broader than anyone else.
The appearance of him in the hall sparked conversation in
people who passed by. Whispers filled the area along with
clattering and footsteps. The many that were speaking lowly
in their groups were eyeing the giant.
Despite everybody's interest in him, nobody approached
Stone.
He was sort of like fire in a way. Sinisterly yet ethereally
tempting. You admired from afar but you did not get too
close and you did not touch.
Lana pulled me in front so she could speak to me without
the company of the other two "What do you think everyone
is gossiping about?"
"No idea." I replied before joking "I feel like some of them
are close to asking one of them for some sort of autograph."
She laughed and then lowered her voice as the boys neared
"Please come to the drive-in-cinema. It gets awkward with
Brennan and I when he disappears suddenly."
"Does he ever explain where they both go at night?"
"Brennan said they were helping his grandmother install a
new oven." Lana explained like it was a reasonable
explanation.
It had the same vibes as the dog-ate-the-homework excuse.
I was planning to interrogate the two men when about their
whereabouts when Lana was not around.
The two males caught up with us. Brennan started a
conversation with Lana as they walked in front. Stone
lingered near me like my second shadow.
When I stopped at my locker to exchange my textbooks, the
giant stopped too.
I switched around my supplies for my next class as the large
veiny hand belonging to Stone reached into my locker and
pulled out one of my books.
He held it up to his face so he could read the title and then
he turned it around to inspect the blurb.
Glaring up at him and my out-of-reach book, I voiced "Why
do you always do that?"
Stone ignored my question and instead asked his own "Does
this book not end on a cliff-hanger?"
My head tilted as a taunting smile made its way onto my
face "How do you know that? Have you read it?"
Ignoring my question again, he looked down at me and
asked, "Why do you like it?"
"Because imagining your own end can be sometimes better
than the real thing. Reality is a disappointment compared to
fantasy."
He cocked his head as a foreign expression flicked across his
rough-looking features.
"Give me my book, Lurch." I demanded up at him with a
glare "Or I will knee you in the gut and take it for myself."
He chuckled "Even then I would still be much taller than
you."
His remark about my height had me eager to prove him
wrong and get back my paperback so I stepped on his toes.
The reaction was not one of pain as I put my whole weight
onto his left foot. It was one of pure amusement as he
peered down at me.
"That does not even hurt you, does it?" I realised with a
sigh.
Stone shook his head as his lip twitched up.
I had spent a whole month with this man, and I had still
never seen him smile.
I put my other foot on his free one until I was entirely on
him. My feet on top of his meant that my whole body was
pressed against him. I tried reaching up for the book again
but failed.
During my mission to get my book back, my chest brushed
against his upper stomach.
The contact made his raised arm with the book falter and
lower.
I took the opportunity of his weakened moment and
grabbed the book from him. I victoriously shook it in front of
his face before I backed away and put the book back in the
locker.
The lunch line was long by the time we got to the cafeteria.
Lana was already waiting in the line when Stone and I sat
down with Brennan at the table.
I figured this was the best time to ask them a few questions.
I cleared my throat and flicked my gaze between the two
men as I delivered "If you two are hiding something then
you need to come clean now."
Stone stilled in his seat and reminded silent. His leg that
rested against mine did not move and neither did his big
muscular chest.
Brennan frowned while asking "What do you mean?"
"You disappear at night like some reverse vampire." I
mentioned to him "You have left Lana a few times and it is
always at the same time."
"We just like to get home to see our parents." Brennan tried
to deliver strongly.
"Is that before or after you have installed your
grandmother's fridge?" I asked.
"After."
"That is funny." I leant over the table and whispered just in
case Lana might be miraculously listening "Lana told me
that you were installing an oven."
The surfer's eyes widen before he released a sigh "I don't
know what you want me to say, Ella."
"Just admit that you are secret night-ninjas."
"We are not secret night ninjas." Brennan let out a small
laugh.
I sighed and added more seriously "Promise me you will not
hurt Lana."
For the first time since we sat down at the table, Stone
spoke up "What about you?"
"What about me?" I asked while tilting my head upwards so
that I could peer at him.
"Would you not be hurt?" The gravelly voice asked.
Stone and I had a weird dynamic. I thought to myself about
how empty it would be without being called Medusa every
day. I would be empty without his teasing and taunting
every day.
A small part of me would be hurt.
To avoid saying the truth, I stuck my tongue out at both of
them before delivering sassily "I don't like you both enough
to get hurt."
The thick muscular leg against mine stilled again.
"Anyway," Brennan changed the topic of conversation
"Before Lana comes back, I wanted to tell you that I am
going to ask her to be my girlfriend tomorrow."
"That is great." I gushed, my inner romantic threatening to
escape.
"Tomorrow is Saturday—" Brennan began.
I cut him off with a smart comment "Thank you for
reminding us, Father Time."
He rolled his eyes but continued "We are all going to the
beach and then the pier. I'm going to ask her to be mine at
the Ferris wheel where we first met."
My inner romantic was happy, but I was still confused on
why he said we.
"Have I been trapped in a hallmark movie?" I deadpanned
"I'm happy for you and all but why do I have to go?"
Brennan scratched the back of his head while his gaze shot
to Stone.
A few minutes later, Brennan muttered "I want you both
there."
"Why can't you ask her tonight?" I asked.
There was no answer from him.
Lana came back with a tray full of food for everyone. She
sat down but instead of eating the food, she started eating
at Brennan's face.
I froze where I sat, not knowing what to do with myself.
Their kissing looked almost awkward and sloppy, so I tried
to look anywhere else but them.
I hoped that I did not look like that when I kissed guys.
Brennan and Lana finally pulled apart and I almost let out a
sigh of relief.
"You have put me off my lunch." I mentioned to the two
opposite me "I might have to go out and find a boyfriend
just so I can make out with him and put you off your lunch."
The deep rumbling that sounded like the mix of a hungry
tiger and a fire breathing dragon sounded from beside me.
Lana laughed before encouraging me "You should go out
and get a guy, Ella"
"That is not a good idea." Brennan quickly disapproved of
the idea "Stone will snap the poor guy's neck."
I turned to the quiet one next to me. His face did look
murderous, and he did appear capable of snapping
someone's neck.
"Do not worry, Lurch. We can find you someone, so you are
not a fifth wheel." I smiled sweetly up at him as I delivered
gently "It might take us a while to find a willing person
though. Especially with that sourpuss face of yours."
His eyes darkened as he grumbled out "It is not fucking
happening."
"I was just kidding. About me getting a guy, that is." I
cleared up before pointing to myself "I'm a pretty cool
person all by myself."
Stone seemed to have relaxed when he said, "Whatever
floats your boat, seaweed head."
"A-ha. You have used that insult before."
"When?" He grunted, not believing me.
"Last week." I told him before grinning "So take that, Mad
Max."
"Mad Max?" He repeated, his attention on my smile as it
grew.
"He wears a leather jacket too." I mentioned as I motioned
to his jacket "Talking about your jacket, do you ever take it
off?"
He cocked his head and his dark eyes remained on my
smile.
"I'm starting to think you bathe with it on."
"Only one way to find out, Medusa." He rasped out while
leaning close so that his words tickled my neck.
An image of him drowning me if I was ever in the same
bathroom as him came to mind.
His mouth rose half an inch. His hint of a smile only lasted a
second though because it quickly turned to a sneer when he
noticed something behind me.
A person who I had not spoken to since the party was
standing at the side of the table.
Chase was only looking at me when he spoke "Can I speak
to you?"
"What else is there to say?" I replied to him, keeping my
tone neutral.
"Come on, Ella."
I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to at
least hear what he had to say for himself.
I was about to stand up, but a warm grip stopped me from
moving.
A tattooed skull stared up at me as I looked down at Stone's
large hand on my thigh. His hand covered the width of my
leg with warmth. His fingers curled around my thigh and
gently squeezed.
The pressure was not painful, but it was firm. It was enough
to make me bite my lip to keep a noise from escaping my
throat.
It was obvious Stone disliked the quarterback.
For some unknown reason, I did not want to upset Stone, so
I did not remove his hand from my thigh.
I offered the giant next to me a close-lipped smile before I
stood up.
My thigh and the whole of my body went cold as I watched
Stone move his hands into fists. He rested his clenched
hands on the table.
Chase headed towards an empty table, and I followed
behind him. We both sat down on opposite sides of the
bench.
"What do you want?" I quietly murmured, aware of the dark
eyes watching every move of mine.
"I never meant to say what I did at the party." Chase quickly
excused and he almost sounded genuine.
"You didn't?" I scoffed.
"Ella, I am sorry." He apologised before trying to deliver his
reasons "I was mad, and it was in the heat of the moment
—"
I cut him off with a question "What is your excuse for the
other times then?"
Chase sighed "I know, and I am sorry."
"You like to show off with your friends at my expense and I
am not going to sit back and take that."
"I know you shouldn't." He agreed, his eyes not meeting
mine "I feel like shit that I made you feel like that. You have
enough to worry about with your dad."
I really did not want to get into that conversation with him
again.
"We can try to be friends but that is all there is between us."
I quickly disclosed.
The quarterback blinked twice before he bit out "Is it
because of him?"
"Who?"
"Your tattooed buddy that is watching me like he is seconds
away from turning me into his own punching bag." The
blonde chuckled humourlessly.
I resisted the urge to look back at my table and back at the
giant.
"There is nothing going on between Stone and me." I voiced
while crossing my arms over myself and slouching in my
chair.
"Good." He replied like he was telling me off for doing
something bad "You don't know him."
I raised my voice slightly as I rebutted "And you do?"
"You also don't know the other guy that is into Lana." Chase
pointed at my table with a frown as he kept talking.
I was a little suspicious of the two men's whereabouts at
night but they both said nothing was going on. I had to trust
that and them.
"You don't even know his name." I pointed out with a huff
"Brennan is a good guy. Just leave it alone."
"Do you remember that night when we were at the pier, and
I said I had to go to—"
I cut him off again "Chase. Please just stop. Lana really likes
Brennan. Just let this thing that you have against them go."
Chase slammed his hands against the table and stood up
before walking away.
My eyes widened as I watched him leave.
The quarterback called back over his shoulder "Try not to
get hurt by him."
My feet carried me back to my table as my mind raced a
million miles an hour trying to make sense of what Chase
said.
As soon as I sat back down next to the huge frame, the very
tensed giant moved closer and made sure our sides were
touching.
"What did he want?" Stone growled as he watched and
waited for me to reply.
"He wanted to warn me about you." I answered
nonchalantly as I got my sandwich out of my schoolbag.
"Why?" The gruff voice gritted out.
I did not want him to get mad, so I thought it was best to try
and answer light-heartedly "Because you are scary."
His reaction was not what I thought it would be.
He did not chuckle or smirk or anything. He just looked at
me. He really looked at me like he could see right through to
my soul.
Stone sounded like he was trying to soften his deep voice,
but it failed as he asked me "You are scared of me?"
My attention got lost in my sandwich. I thought about the
origin of the word and how it was named after an Earl of
Sandwich. It made me think about how much I wanted a
food named after me.
He spoke again, still trying to soften his husky voice "Ella,
are you scared of me?"
I noticed how everything about him had turned serious, so I
answered him honestly "Of course, I’m not."
His shoulders lowered and I could audibly hear a deep
breath being released.
"Do I have a reason to be scared of you?" I questioned his
tenseness about the topic.
"Everybody else, yes." He grounded out with determination
"You, never."
Something had caught my eye on his jacket. I leaned closer
to see the long single strand of green hair that contrasted
the black leather.
I reached out to get rid of the strand of my hair on him.
Stone quickly but gently grabbed a hold of my wrist before I
could get to the green hair.
His gravelly voice went deep in demand as he ordered
"Leave it."
"Why?" I curiously remarked before putting a faux
expression of horror on my face "Are you planning to clone
me with that piece of hair? Have you built a cloning
machine?"
"One of you is more than enough." He chuckled.
"Hey!" I exclaimed while pulling my hand back from his
embrace "What is that supposed to mean?"
Stone stayed silent but continued to watch me with a raised
lip.
I had grown tired of his selective mutism, and I decided to
stop looking at him.
I was still waiting for the day he would smile.
My gaze travelled around the lunch hall before it landed on
the jock's table. My look at Chase was brief because a
calloused hand touched my chin and made me lose all
concentration.
His touch was warm as the hand belonging to the large man
grabbed a hold of my chin. His gentle caress of my neck and
face continued as he made me look up at him.
He made me meet his hardened unfaltering stare.
The obsidian irises flicked between my mouth and my
widened eyes.
He leant closer and whispered huskily "Keep your eyes on
me, Medusa."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Eleven
The dark green trees swayed in the night wind and cast
shadows across the projected screen. It ruined the quality of
the movie and I started to get annoyed that I was missing
the rain scene where Ryan Gosling confessed his undying
love.
Shadows were not the only reason that I was struggling to
concentrate on the film. One reason was the kissing noises
Lana and Brennan were making next to me. Another reason
was Stone's heated gaze on the side of my face.
Old tires had been removed from the back of Stone's truck
so the four of us could sit inside the little compartment and
watch the movie.
The cargo bed was a tight squeeze for the four of us.
Especially when a giant was taking up all the space.
"Can you see okay?" Stone asked from beside me.
I turned my head so he could get a clear view of my death
stare "One more height joke and I will destroy you, Lurch."
He chuckled but he did not go back to watching the movie. I
did not think he was watching it in the first place.
Lana was sitting beside Brennan at the front of the cargo
space and closer to the movie screen. They were not talking
but they were watching the movie while occasional making
sloppy noises with their mouths.
"This is your fault, Lurch. I know we are acqenemies, but we
must join teams, so we don't have to watch the love birds
play tonsil-tennis." I huffed, "We can think of an excuse to
get out of going to the beach tomorrow."
His expression went serious as he told me a stern "No."
"Why not?"
Stone grumbled, "I only see you three hours at school—"
I thought I could predict his next words, so I cut him off "And
they are the worst three hours of your day?"
"No."
"And they are the worst three hours of your life?" I tried
again.
"No." He grated out, a little more aggressive than the first.
Tapping my chin, I concluded, "And you need more than
three more hours to fully torment me."
Silence filled the space between us before he let out
another quiet "No."
I sat back against the back of the compartment of the truck
and sighed "I give up. I have no idea why you want to go to
the beach tomorrow."
He shook his head at me while I grabbed my bag of gummy
bears and started to open them.
His seriousness faded as I grinned at the little jelly bears.
His usually permanent scowl had faded as he watched me
smile as I ate my candy.
"So good." I exaggerated a moan as I remembered how
much he hated me making a noise.
His question came in the form of a strangled groan "Do you
moan at all foods?"
I sucked the whole candy into my mouth as I replied "Yep."
"Fucking great." He muttered under his breath.
My gaze wandered to the proximity of us. In the small
confined space, I was pressed up against him due to his
broad shoulders.
My body overlapped his as my whole right side was leaning
against his. This had caused one side of my body to be
extremely hot. It was a complete contrast to the lonely
jealous side of my body that was not touching him.
Stone interrupted my thoughts by leaning closer and
whispering deeply in my ear "Are you not crying yet?"
I turned my head so that our noses were inches apart. He
did not retreat back as I narrowed my eyes at him. In fact,
the closeness meant that I saw his smirk up close.
"For the last time, I have never cried at The Notebook!" I bit
out, nearing him even further.
Lana giggled from in front of us "It is okay to admit that it is
a sad movie and you got upset. Everyone knows that you
are a softie, Ella."
I crossed my arms as I pulled away from Stone and leant
back against the metal "I am not!"
The enormous man who seemed to have moved closer and
taken up more of the space teased "Sure you are not,
Medusa."
"Okay, I admit it. The love story is epic, and I cried at the
ending, but it was only a single tear. I wasn't as bad as
Lana" I argued, "I thought a full exorcist was taking place
right next to me."
"I was not that loud!" She argued.
"Tell that to the next-door neighbour that thought their dead
relative was reaching out to them."
Brennan laughed at me before he motioned to the screen
"This is a good movie and all but why does it take so long
for them to get together?"
"What do you mean?"
"Surely if you wanted something so badly then you would
just take it?" Brennan questioned, his tone teasing as he
sent a secretive look in my direction.
"Is this your first romance film?" I asked before explaining
"The movie would only be about twenty minutes if that was
the case. There would be no angst or suspense. No build up.
Every great romance has a few obstacles in the way."
"Like what?" Brennan questioned, sounding unconvinced
and that was probably due to his and Lana's instant
connection.
It was not me who answered him.
"Like a blonde prick." A deep voice grumbled.
"Exactly." I nodded at Stone's suggestion while agreeing
"Usually something like that."
Looking back up the screen, I saw the older version of the
movie couple. I did not feel any tears come. That was
probably because of my constant audience which consisted
of a pair of dark eyes.
"This place has suddenly got a depressing atmosphere." I
voiced aloud while looking around at the many cars parked.
Brennan nodded while looking bored "Maybe we should
blast some music to lighten up the mood"
I didn't think the two others were watching when I winked at
Lana and mouthed "They have been talking to Chase."
She laughed but I could not hear it over the dark rumbling
noise coming from the large chest next to me.
"Why would we talk to that asshole?" Brennan questioned
with a scoff.
I did not answer. I was too busy watching a veiny muscle-
filled arm as it moved behind me and rested there.
Lana spoke up "We should tell them about what he said at
the party. About The Playing Theory."
Brennan looked between the two of us, confused "What is
this Playing Theory?"
"Chase said to us he had this theory about how he would
sleep with a girl. He said he would guess what music a girl
would like then he would use it to get her in the mood."
"It has to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard." I
added to Lana's words.
"Fuck." Stone's darkened gaze shot to me as he gnarled
"Did he try that on you?"
"He doesn't know what music I like." I honestly said "Plus, I
think he was just trying to show off to his friend. I don't
think he has ever tried it."
The defined rugged jaw ticked as Stone grew deadly quiet.
Sending a smile my way, Lana joked "So you are telling me
that if a boy played some song from an emo band like
Nirvana that your underwear would not just melt off?"
I thought about it for a second, ignoring the obsidian orbs
drilling into the side of my face.
"You might have a point." I shrugged as I munched another
gummy bear.
Speaking of bears, I thought there was one near due to the
loud noise that followed my revelation. It turned out just to
be Stone releasing a deep breath.
As I watched him, I could not help but speak aloud
absentmindedly "I have a theory about you."
He tilted his head at my confession.
"I think your constant grumpy face is because of your
amount of testosterone. You have an extremely huge build,
so you need more of the chemical to cover the large lengths
of all of you." I informed him "It is science."
His lip quirked up, amused at my theory.
"That or you don't smile because have bad teeth." I
insinuated even though I knew that was not true.
I had caught glimpses of his thirty-two perfect teeth.
The small smirk had grown into a half-smile, and it was
further evidence of his irritatingly good looks.
I pointed at his mouth with a teasing smile "Hmm. They look
pretty healthy to me so it must be my first theory."
Brennan chose then to butt into the conversation "I'd hope
they were healthy with all of those apples he insists on
eating."
Stone ignored his remark as he studied my bag of sweets.
He seemed to be finding how much gummy bears I was
eating at a time amusing.
I held the bag out to him "Do you want one?"
Stone shook his head.
"It is just one." I told him "I am not holding out an olive
branch. You are still my rival. A gummy bear will not change
that."
Another chuckle left him as he continued to watch as I
downed five candies at a time.
The more the movie went on, the more stars filled the sky
and the colder the night became. I was trying hard not to
shiver as I moved my knees up to my chest.
The next thing I knew, a hand touched my arm before a
vexed Stone grumbled "You are freezing."
"I am fine." I tried to argue as I crossed my arms over my
chest.
He did not listen to me as he took off his jacket. His actions
were hurried and desperate as he tried to put the material
on me.
I stopped him and denied "I am not cold."
His glare was nothing short of commanding as he gave me
an ultimatum "It is either my jacket or both my arms."
I rolled my eyes while biting back my smile "Fine then,
demanding ass."
The jacket drowned me. It was huge enough that Stone
managed to wrap it around my body three or four times.
I looked like a leather jacket burrito.
Lana was whispering to Brennan when I turned back to face
them.
"Do you think our relationship is moving too fast?" Lana
questioned lowly to the guy next to her.
"I don't think so." Brennan muttered and then he went on to
change the subject "What time is it anyway?"
Pulling out his phone and glancing at the screen, Stone let
out a curse "It is nearly quarter to nine."
Brennan sat up quickly and abruptly. Lana jumped in
response at how fast the movement was.
"We have to go." Brennan announced suddenly.
Stone gripped onto the side of the truck before he leapt
over and landed on the grass. He turned back instantly and
offered his hand.
I was perfectly capable of getting out of the truck myself,
but I took his hand anyway.
He pulled me to the side of the cargo until I was close
enough for him to get a grip on my waist. He lifted me up
like I was weightless before he slowly set me on the ground.
His hands never dropped from my waist when my feet
landed on the grass.
I did not move away from him.
It was like the rest of my body had stopped working. The
only part that needed to function was the cells in my waist
that were screaming to be remained touched by him.
His hold on my hips still did not waver as he peered down at
me and let his mouth twitch upwards.
"What are you smirking at now?" I asked while narrowing my
eyes up at his face
"You are blushing." He chuckled.
My eyes widened.
I slapped my cold hands to my warm cheeks before I denied
his observation "I don't blush."
"Then why has your freckles gone darker, and your face
flushed?"
"I am allergic to tree pollen." I lied, crossing my arms and
rising on my toes My face goes all puffy when I'm outside."
I took one last look up at him before I hesitantly pulled back.
I joined Lana in the back of the car who was chatting to an
unsettled Brennan.
When Stone started the engine and started to drive away
from the park, Lana spoke up in an agitated tone "Do you
have another oven to install?"
In the seat in front of her, Brennan was busy typing on his
phone when he replied "What?"
"You installed the oven for your grandma last time." She
asked, sounding completely unconvinced by the lie he had
come up with "Do you have another one?"
He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before answering
"Yes."
As we turned a corner onto the main road, I whispered to an
unhappy Lana "Maybe his grandma owns a pizzeria and
there are several ovens?"
She knew I was trying to make her feel better, so she
laughed before sending a smile my way.
I decided to speak up when the truck stopped at a red light
"So where are you both away to then?"
Stone did not answer. He was silent as he gripped onto the
steering wheel so strongly that it made his knuckles turn
white. 
"Just some family stuff." Brennan started vaguely.
When the traffic lights turned green, Stone put his foot down
on the pedal and the truck shot down the street rapidly.
If I didn't have my seatbelt on then I would have gone flying
through the window.
Buildings passed in a haze and Stone looked like he was not
going to be easing his foot off the accelerator any time
soon.
The two boys sat in silence at the front while Lana and I
chatted quietly in the back.
My attention flicked between her and Brennan who
occasionally looked at the side of Stone's face anxiously.
I took a hold of Lana's hand because her expression was full
of annoyance. I squeezed her fingers in reassurance.
"I have always wanted to feel like I was in a Fast and Furious
film." I quietly exaggerated to Lana "But If he drives any
quicker then I’m going to throw up all over his leather
seats."
We both fell into a fit of laughter.
After my laughter died down, I faced the front of the car and
my eyes met Stone's in the rear-view mirror.
"Away to kill someone, Lurch?" I remarked while sending
him a taunting smile.
"No killing" He assured me.
"How about maiming?"
There was no smirk on his face when he said, "No maiming."
I was about to question him further, but I then noticed we
had pulled up in front of the Armstrong's house.
Lana and I both got out of the truck without saying another
word to the two still in the vehicle.
A deep voice stopped me from walking any further away
from the truck "Where do you think you are going?"
I raised a brow at him before I realised, I still had his jacket
on. I unwrapped it from around my midsection and passed it
to him through the open driver's window.
"I was not meaning the jacket, Medusa." He grunted in
disapproval "How are you planning on getting home?"
"I'll walk." I answered back.
Stone went silent as his jaw worked in an angry rhythm. A
stern expression quickly made its way onto his face.
"That is not happening." He gritted out in warning.
I tilted my head at him as I challenged "Why not?"
"It is dark outside and not safe." Stone's voice went low and
cautious like he was thinking about every scenario that
could possibly happen "Just get in the car. I will take you
home."
"It is only a five-minute walk." I mentioned with a sigh
before I encouraged "You are in a hurry. Just go."
The giant did not move a single inch. He continued to hone
in on me with his dark eyes.
"Look on the bright side." I joked to him "If I get kidnapped
or murdered then you will get rid of me."
"Ella." He growled my name.
"Bye, Stone." I offered him a small wave before I turned to
go.
"We need to go." Brennan spoke loudly and urgently from
the passenger seat before he leaned forward and addressed
us "We will see you at the beach tomorrow."
Lana swivelled on her foot and nodded in their direction,
answering for the both of us.
Both Lana and I walked up the drive towards her house and
we did not once look back at the black truck that was
probably long gone.
"You just had to pick the secret agent to go out with." I joked
to her.
She slapped my head playfully as we headed inside.
After I said a quick hello to Lana's parents and stole some of
their food, I left the house and made my way on foot along
the dark street.
The walk left me alone with my thoughts.
I was still suspicious about their whereabouts, especially
after their lame excuses. I chose to believe that whatever
they were doing was important.
My front door was slightly ajar when I climbed the one flight
of stairs and approached my apartment.
The open door meant only one thing. The awful feeling of
dread knotted in my stomach as pushed open the door
further.
"Dad?" I called into the dimly lit apartment.
I walked into the living room and found my father on the
sofa with a beer bottle in hand.
The television was not on, and he was not on his phone. He
just stared into the dark as he chugged down the alcohol.
I spoke again "Dad?"
He did not look at me, but he did scoff a question in
acknowledgement "Where have you been?"
"I could ask you the same thing." I replied and I tried to keep
my voice void of emotion so that I would seem stronger
"Where have you been for the past month?"
"That is not your concern, Drizella."
I winced at the use of my name.
He never called me Drizella. My name was very much my
mother's idea and he used to find it funny how much I hated
it.
"How is that not my concern?" I questioned him, my voice
rising so loud that it hurt my throat "I’m your daughter and
you are never here."
My dad's laugh was cruel "You are eighteen. You don't need
anyone."
I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs.
I raised a hand to my throat and restrained myself from
telling him how much I did need someone.
My father never drank a lot when my mother was alive. He
only drank on special occasions. Which differed greatly from
now where his diet only consisted of alcohol.
I asked him every time I saw him about his whereabouts,
but I was not entirely sure I wanted to know.
"Maybe you do need someone." He let out a humourless
laugh as his eyes finally addressed "You are left to your own
devices and now look at your hair."
"What is wrong with my hair?" I quietly uttered as I ran my
hand through the green locks.
People had always commented on it, but I had never cared.
Not until he commented on it.
"I always talked with Mom about dyeing my hair green" I
mentioned to him softly.
He sprung to life. He leaned forward on the sofa and pointed
a shaking finger at me.
"Do not mention her." He spat out in disgust "She would be
so disappointed in you."
"Yeah, because it would be me she is disappointed in." I
remarked sarcastically "It would definitely not be the drunk
that drowns his sorrows in whisky. The one that lost his job
because he is such a mess. The one that only comes back to
pay the bills and then leaves his daughter and disappears
for months at a time."
No reply leaves him. Nothing left him.
He had fallen back onto the sofa unconscious.
I rushed out of the room and wiped my eyes as I went.
I ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. I
locked it before I fell back onto the wall. I leaned my head
against the hard surface as I closed my eyes and placed my
hand on my shaking mouth.
The reflection of myself in the mirror above the sink greeted
me. The sight of the person looking back at me made me
want to cry harder.
Black mascara ran down my cheeks and a red puffiness
decorated my nose and the area around my eyes.
I rubbed at my eyes and scrubbed the charcoal colour all
over my eyes. It made me look like a wrecked and broken
china doll.
Sobs escaped my chest as I looked in the cabinet under the
sink for something to wipe my eyes with. I pulled out toilet
roll, shampoo and hair dye remover.
The last item caught my eye, so I took it out.
I read the back of the box as it shook in my hands.
It was true that I never cared about other people's opinions.
I loved my green hair. I believe it was part of who I was.
Sometimes I even let myself believe it was my natural hair
colour.
The sound of the running water drowned out my cries as I
rubbed the hair dye remover into my scalp.
I watched the shower floor turn green while I thought back
to scolding Chase about not being himself. I watched a part
of my identity wash down the drain and I had never felt
more like a hypocrite.
With a towel wrapped around my body, I quickly raced
through to my room and locked the door behind me.
A shiver ran down my back at the temperature of the house
and I hoped that the gas bill had been paid.
Worry after worry piled on top of me. My body grew heavier
like it wanted to collapse again the ground and not get back
up again.
I changed into my pyjamas and hurried into my duvet so I
could snuggle into my pillow. My wet brown hair touched the
softener, and the sight made me want to cry harder.
The thing that stopped me from breaking down completely
was the sound of my phone buzzing.
I reached for the phone on my nightstand and looked to see
an unknown number was calling.
"Hello?" I spoke into the phone, curiosity filling my tone as
to who was calling.
A deep gruff voice greeted me "Did you get home safe?"
I smiled to myself as I replied, "Hello stranger that is either
a stalker or Stone."
"Did you get home safe, Medusa?"
My eyes rolled at the use of the nickname before I
questioned into the phone "How did you get my number?"
The vague reply from the gravelly voice tickled my ear and
made a shiver run down my spine "I asked Brennan for it."
I frowned confusedly while asking "How did Brennan get it?"
"He asked Lana for it." He answered after a second or two.
I bit back a smile as I sprawled out on my bed like a starfish
and looked up at the ceiling.
The commanding tone returned to his husky voice as he
demanded to know "Did you get home safe?"
"No." I answered as seriously as I could "I have been picked
up by a UFO. I am being held captive by aliens who want to
invade earth."
"And they let you keep your phone?" He challenged.
"The aliens knew that you had my number." I claimed, "You
calling me is part of their torture technique to torment me."
He chuckled once.
"Although, you calling me kind of makes me think you kind
of care about my well-being." I said suggestively into the
phone "Has the real Stone been body-snatched?"
Another deep noise that resembled a laugh came through
the line.
"They probably mistook you for being one of them." He
mentioned, a hint of amusement in his tone "Your green hair
is eye-catching."
My smile dropped. My attention went to the brown strands
spread out against my pillow.
"Not anymore." I murmured.
Silence hung between us for a full minute before he spoke
again.
"What do you mean you got rid of the green?" His deep
voice grumbled.
"I got rid of the green." I repeated, my throat shaking as I
uttered the words.
"You love your hair." Stone grumbled again.
"I just wanted a change." I said instead of telling him the
truth.
He went silent. The phone went completely quiet, but I
could tell he was still there. I could hear his deep intake of
breaths.
His words were hoarse, and his voice was softest I had ever
heard it as he asked, "It was not because I made fun of it,
was it?"
"No. Of course, it wasn't." I assured him, my mouth quirking
up "I don't hold your opinion in that much of a high regard."
He chuckled and released another deep breath from his
chest.
"You are going to find it hard to insult me now." I pointed
out.
Stone taunted lowly "You are no longer the wicked witch of
the west."
I asked, "Then who am I?" 
"You can now go and live in munchkin city with all of the
other short people."
I moved the phone away from my face so that he could not
hear me laughing. I calmed myself down and then brought
the phone back to my ear.
My laughter did not last long.
I was reminded that he could no longer call me Medusa
because I did not have green hair.
At least I could still call him Lurch. I doubt he would ever
stop growling or grumbling.
"Are you still there?" I questioned quietly after a minute or
two of silence
The deep voice confessed, "I'm going to miss your hair."
I almost dropped the phone onto my face in shock.
"What?" I said, thinking that I had misheard him.
"Fairytale green is the most amazing colour I have ever
seen." He replied lowly.
My eyes blinked a few times. I had definitely misheard him.
I told myself what he really said was I'm going to miss
insulting your hair. Fairytale green is the worst colour I have
ever seen.
"Are you high?" I asked, "Are you a stone-r?"
He did not laugh at my pun and instead repeated his
question "Why did you get rid of your green?"
"I told you. It was time for a change." I lied and then decided
to change the subject "You can no longer call me Medusa."
Stone let out a grumbling sound of disapproval before he
claimed, "You will always be my Medusa."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twelve
My confidence might have gone down the drain along with
the green hair dye.
Lana sighed as she pointed towards the no longer green
head of mine "I still can't believe you got rid of your green
hair."
I tried to smile at her as I claimed, "It was time for a
change."
"You loved your wacko hair." She mentioned softly before
she asked, "Are you sure everything is okay?"
We walked along the beachfront with our bikinis under our
clothes. I was glad that we would not have to change in the
small sweaty cubicles.
My father left the apartment before the sun rose. I was up
most of the night, letting my imagination run wild with
worry. I spent the late hours listening at my door to the
sounds of my dad stumbling around the place until I heard
the front door slam shut.
As well as brown hair, I had dark circles under my eyes. I
had spent a good while making sure make-up covered
everything.
"So, how is it going with lover boy?" I started a conversation
to stop myself from thinking.
"It is going fine." She replied, "Brennan is really sweet and
he is handsome."
I laughed "I want to be the maid of honour at your
wedding."
"Only if I get to be yours."
Shaking my head as we walked onto the sand, I told her "I
will need to find someone that wants to marry me. Before
that, I need to find a guy that wants to stick around."
"Ella, loads of guys have shown interest in you and you have
always tried to scare them away." She laughed gently while
pointing out "Which you always succeed at."
"They did not want to date me. They wanted to sleep with
me. There is a massive difference. I have never had
someone that wants to stick around." I explained while
pulling at a thread on my jean shorts "Plus, I’m not good at
picking up on social cues so I will probably end up an old cat
lady."
As we got nearer to the water, I did not even have enough
time to register how much I hated this place because
something else caught my eye.
Stone looked in his element. His muscles were visible as he
gripped onto the board with one hand. He rode the waves
effortlessly as he kept balance on the board. The deadly
combination of the sun and the water made the tattoos on
his chest glisten.
Lana sent me a smile. It felt secretive and it was full of
hidden meaning.
The two men made their way towards us, surfboards
underarm. They neared closer and closer until Stone was
towering over me.
I looked anywhere else but his well-built body.
"Lovely Lana." Brennan greeted her with a wink before he
smiled at me "Little Ella."
I rolled my eyes before I turned to my best friend and
warned "You better take him away before I knock him on his
ass."
She giggled but then she stopped suddenly "Are you sure
you are going to be okay here yourself?"
"Of course, I am." I reassured her before I hit her arm "Go be
with lover boy in the water but keep in mind that this is a
family beach."
Brennan chuckled before taking Lana's hand "I can't
promise anything."
They both headed towards the water which left me alone
with the giant who was currently studying my face like he
was looking for something. He looked intent on finding some
kind of answer there as he continued to watch me.
I tried to ignore the heat rushing to my cheeks as I laid out a
beach towel on the sand and sat down. I adjusted myself on
the ground and sat crossed-legged before I looked up to see
Stone still watching me.
"You do know that you don't have to keep me company." I
said before suggesting "You should go back to surfing."
He did not move.
He simply let his mouth rise in a small smirk as he asked,
"Do you want me to go back to surfing so you can go back
to watching me?"
Rolling my eyes, I sighed "Fine. Suit yourself. Stay."
The corner of his lip twitched upwards as he sat down right
next to me.
That is when I concluded that his plan had worked. He
teased me right into letting him stay. It made me wonder
how much he knew about me. He always seemed to know
what to say or what to do to push my buttons.
Looking him up and down, I thought about his reason for
watching me so closely. He had obviously taken time to
study my actions and my mannerisms.
Perhaps it was his way of keeping his friends close but his
acqenemies closer.
I did not know I was staring at his abs until he motioned to
his torso and questioned "Do you want to rub sunscreen on
them?"
"I wasn’t staring at them!" I tried to defend myself as I
crossed my arms "Plus, your eight-pack is too wet to put the
sunscreen on it."
He lifted his head upward and looked at the sky as he
laughed. I watched his Adam’s apple move as his deep
chuckle made my skin cover with goosebumps.
"Stop laughing!" I exclaimed before sending him a glare "I
was looking at your belly button."
"Of course, you were." He said, his tone taunting.
I huffed "I have never met someone so smug in my life."
Stone chuckled again "Like you are not smug as well."
"I am not." I argued before tutting "How am I smug?"
His eyes met mine as he half-smirked "When you get one up
on me or you think of a good insult, it is like you glow as you
smile. You might as well jump up and down."
"We bicker every second we are around each other." I
pointed out "Are you trying to say that I enjoy all the time I
spend around you?"
"Yes."
I scoffed as I moved my hair behind my shoulders "That is
so not true."
"You do know I can tell when you are lying, Medusa."
Shaking my head, I looked away and hid my smile.
As soon as I turned away from him, the breeze from the
ocean hit me and so did the memories. The night still played
in my mind like a tragic film. The whole event was crystal
clear and sometimes I wished I forgot.
A hand rested on my shoulder, and it sent a shiver down my
spine. I became aware of where I was and who I was with so
I faced him.
Stone sounded softer than his usual rough voice as he
questioned "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Talk about what?"
"Whatever has made your smile disappear." He replied with
a grumble.
I took a deep unsteady breath and I decided to confide in
him.
"Last year, my dad I were at home, and we were waiting for
my my mom to come home. She worked late nights at a
store, so we did not suspect anything was wrong. It just felt
like a normal day..." I trailed off because of the pressure in
my chest.
"Ella, look at me." The owner of the gravelly voice said as he
placed his hand gently under my chin and tilted my head so
I would meet his eye "I want you to tell because you want
to. Not because you feel you must. I will wait however long
it takes."
"I want to tell you." I admitted quietly before I continued
"My Dad got a phone call from the hospital saying my
mother nearly drowned. A lifeguard forgot his phone, so he
came back here and saw her in the water. He saved her in
time and called the ambulance. We were relieved that she
was alive, and he managed to save her. Then we got to the
hospital, and we were told that something went wrong."
Stone's hand overlapped mine as my pinky finger curled
around one of his large fingers.
"She still had water in her lungs. She died with secondary
drowning." I rushed out my words "That was not the worst
part of it all. It was when the police officer had to break the
news that it was not an accident and she had decided to
take her own life."
"That is why you hate being here." He stated rather than
asked.
"This place is a horrible reminder that she wanted to leave,
and she was unhappy."
He responded by squeezing my hand. I could not see his
face because I was too busy looking down at the sand.
"We can go somewhere else." He suggested in one grumble
of a breath "We can go anywhere you want."
"I live in Santa Monica. I could not avoid this place if I tried."
I whispered and then I decided I was not going to be sad
anymore "Can we talk about something different?"
Rather than letting go of my hand, he held on tighter as he
nodded.
"Your tattoos are passable to look at." I commented lamely,
still not wanting to compliment them "When did you get
your first one?"
"Fifteen."
I smiled "I bet your parents were really happy about that."
He shook his head before grumbling something under his
breath.
"What is it?" I asked gently.
"My parents are dead."
I felt my eyes widen.
"I'm so sorry." I quickly apologised and fought the urge to
bury myself in the sand "I never thought. I'm really—"
"Medusa." He stopped my blabbering with a chuckle "It is
okay. It happened a long time ago."
The wind had moved my hair into my face, so I moved it
back as I asked "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I was ten when my mom got sick. Cancer. She died and my
dad was devastated." Stone uttered quietly while not
meeting my eye "He could not handle her death and had a
heart-attack a few weeks later. Doctors said his heart strings
broke apart and he died with a broken heart."
My vision became unclear as I looked away from him and to
the ocean. I did not blink because I did not want to cry.
It was hard to think about him in that situation. To think
about him being hurt. I had always seen him as what he
appeared to be.
He was big, strong and intimating as hell Stone.
I had the urge to hug him.
However, I restrained myself. I thought about the
repercussions of wrapping my arms around his large form. I
had the image of him throwing me away from him and into
the sea like a javelin. 
Looking down towards our joined hands, I noticed how my
hand dwarfed his. Everything of mine was so tiny compared
to him.
I moved my hand from under his hold and put it on top of
his huge one. It was my turn to squeeze his hand.
"I'm really sorry." I said again before adding "Ten years old?
That must have been so difficult."
He shrugged and his deep voice filled the space between us
again "It worked out fine. Brennan's parents adopted me
after they passed."
"That was nice of them." I mentioned with a smile "Do you
still live with them?"
"Yeah." He replied lowly, his gravelly voice a little less
hoarse "Brennan is my brother in every way that counts."
It was obvious that blood meant nothing to the two men,
and they were family.
Evidence of that was the fact that he was spending time
with me. He listened to everything I said like he cared, and
he spent more time than necessary with me.
The though of him putting up with me for the sake of
Brennan and Lana pondered around in my head.
I looked to the two others at the seashore before I peered
back at the giant.
"It is not like that." Stone growled, "Never think that."
"What?" I questioned, confused.
His face was not teasing nor smug when he grumbled out
scoldingly "What you were thinking, it is not true."
I tilted my head at him "How do you know what I am
thinking about?"
"I'm an Ella-Expert." He replied, a small smirk making its
way onto his face.
A noise from Lana and Brennan in the water made me jump
and, in the process, I removed my hand from Stone's.
Stone scowled at my hands that now rested on my knees
and then he scowled at the pair in the ocean.
He eventually peered back down at me with a stern
expression. He studied my face as he continued to be deep
in thought.
His seriousness never cracked as I stuck my tongue out at
him in a way to cut through the tension.
"Right." I ordered, "Out with it, Lurch."
Stone chuckled "What?"
"I know you want to ask me something." I mentioned, "I can
sense it and I’m not even a Stone-expert."
He cocked his head.
"Wait." I laughed out my question "Would that not just be
called a Geologist?"
"Where is your dad?" Stone questioned gruffly.
This man was the most perceptive person I had ever met.
Perhaps he was an Ella-expert.
I was not ready to talk about my dad. I had no idea where I
would start.
"He is away on a business trip for a few weeks." I lied.
He watched as I crossed my arms. He studied me sceptically
like he did not believe my lie.
"Do you think you will ever go back in the ocean again?"
Stone asked.
"I don't know." I answered honestly "Maybe one day, I will
try. Just not right now. I still need to conquer my fear of the
Ferris wheel."
"You are scared of the Ferris wheel?" He repeated.
"Yeah." I confirmed before I let out a humourless laugh "Do
you think the world is ending?"
Stone raised an eyebrow at my last sentence.
"We just had a heart to heart. We went ten minutes without
insulting each other." I pointed out "Now, I truly believe
anything is possible."
His husky laugh vibrated through me as his burly body
moved closer.
"I think you should insult me." I mentioned with a loath "Us
being nice to each other is too weird."
He laughed again but did not say anything. His face grew
serious as he looked at my hair that was absent of the
vibrant green colour.
"Are you struggling to find an insult because my hair is
gone?" I teased as I nudged him with my elbow.
"There is always your height to make fun of."
I sent a glare his way "Can you not think of anything else?"
His black pupils met mine as he smirked "Your eyes."
"My eyes?" I questioned, "What is wrong with my eyes?"
The answer he gives does not answer my question, instead,
he described them as "Large brown doe eyes."
"Do you just sit and find all my flaws?" I asked as I rolled the
things he called large brown doe eyes "Anything wrong with
my nose?"
"Little button nose." He claimed.
The weird thing was that he described my attributes while
staring out at the sea. He seemed to be reciting them from
memory.
I shook my head at his comments "These are terrible
insults."
Stone chuckled again "Why don't you start us off with an
insult?"
Nothing came to mind as I let my gaze roam every part of
his exposed body.
"I can't think of anything because you are not wearing your
leather jacket." I said lamely "I can't exactly make fun of
your naked torso."
His chuckle grew into a deep husky laugh as I realised that I
pretty much complimented his god-like body. I covered my
face with my hair to hide my visible sign of embarrassment.
There were no trees around so I could not exactly blame my
blush on my allergies.
As the two lovebirds made their way out of the water and
towards us, Stone spoke again "Let’s face one of your fears
today."
I frowned "I don't think I'm ready to go in the water."
He shook his head once before suggesting "Go on the Ferris
wheel with me."
"No way!" I blurted out "I am not going on that death trap!"
A few seconds passed before a smug half-smirk grew on his
face. It was like he remembered something.
"If you go on then I will get you a stuffed panda." His deep
voice promised.
This man knew how to work me.
I wondered why I chose to open up to him and why I felt so
at ease while doing it.
"You have yourself a deal, Lurch." I said back to him with a
smile.
Image
The pier was busy by the time we arrived. The place was
filled with kids running around.
It did not have the same feeling during the day. The neon
lights were nowhere to be seen and the sun annoyingly
shone in my eyes.
Brennan and Lana were walking hand in hand to the wheel.
He did look at all nervous for what was coming next. I just
hoped she would say yes to his relationship proposal, and it
would not turn out awkward.
Stone and I followed behind as we made our way nearer to
the Ferris wheel.
For the past twenty minutes, he had been constantly
sending taunting looks my way. He was acting like I was
going to fall off the wheel and plummet to my death.
When we stopped in front of the big terrifying ride, I stopped
and faced him before blurting out "Stop looking at me like
that. If there is one person that is falling off that death trap,
it is you. That will be due to the fact that I have pushed
you."
"I'm just surprised you are allowed on the ride, Medusa." He
teased, his eyes remaining on me "I thought you be under
the height restriction."
"There isn’t even a minimum height!" I exclaimed before
glaring at him "You are so going to die by my hand in the
next ten minutes."
The two others were already in the queue so when Stone
and I followed on behind them, Lana turned around to face
me as she gasped "You are going on?"
"Yes." I gritted out "Only because Lurch is forcing me."
She still looked to be in disbelief as she asked Stone "How
did you do it? I have been trying to get Ella on a ride for
years."
Brennan joined in with the teasing as he patted the giant's
back "He is the Ella-whisperer." 
"No. He is not." I argued.
Lana smiled at me before delivering in awe "I have never
seen you anywhere near the Ferris wheel. Stone is a miracle
worker."
"He is a pain in my ass. That is what he is." I commented as
I sent the person in question a side glare.
"So how did he manage to convince you go on?" She asked.
"I'm only doing this for my stuffed panda as my first one
was brutally murdered."
Brennan laughed but then he realised his plan was in
jeopardy "You two are getting your own carriage, right?"
Before I could answer, Lana quickly dismissed the idea "No
way. We can go on as a four."
I remembered that his grand plan was to ask her out where
they first met.
"You two should go on yourself." My inner romantic took
over and I shook my head before rejecting her offer "Lurch
and I will go ourselves."
The blonde girl frowned "Are you sure?"
"Yeah." I said for definite "We can get to know each other
better."
Lana finally agreed. She and Brennan were next in line, so
they got into the next free carriage as Stone and I remained
in the queue.
Once they were away, I turned to my smug acqenemy "Just
so you know. What I said to her last physically hurt me to
say."
His lip quirked up an inch when roughly let out "Whatever
you say, Medusa."
When it was our turn to get on to the death wheel, I was still
planning my escape. I thought about running but then
remembered that the large man was faster and stronger
than me.
I cursed his tallness.
I just needed to remind myself why I was doing this. It was
solely for the panda.
Stone sat across from me in the small, confined carriage. It
meant that there was no way of hiding my facial expression
from him.
There was no way to hide at all.
In my head, I vowed not to cry in front of him.
We were halfway up in the air when I scowled at him "I can't
believe you are making me do this. This is not safe. There
were no windows in this thing."
He flicked his dark irises between my widened eyes and my
mouth.
"What if I fall out?" I asked him.
"You are not going to fall out." He assured me, his eyes
shining with amusement "I would not let you."
"I'm pretty sure you would. This was your plan, wasn't it?" I
shrieked in horror "You are going to kill me on this thing."
He laughed at my theatrics before grumbling "Any last
words, Medusa"
I tapped my chin before I grinned at him while revealing
"You are not invited to my funeral, and I hope we don't meet
in the afterlife."
The view was stunning. I could see the whole pier and the
beachfront. I even saw some houses beyond that.
What was surprising was that I did not mind it up here. I
liked being at the angle where I could see every wave and
ripple in the water. I felt almost comfortable.
"It’s beautiful." I said aloud but quietly to myself.
Stone nodded his head in agreement even though he was
not looking outside of the little space we had between us.
He was staring right at me.
I closed my eyes and felt the wind on my hair as I voiced "I
can't believe I haven't done this this before."
A deep rumble of a laugh is what I heard in return.
When I opened my eyes, the two people a few carriages
down were kissing. It just happened to be the two people I
knew.
"It looks like he has asked her to be his girlfriend." I
mentioned to the giant while I pointed towards Brennan and
Lana.
He followed my finger and glanced and them before turning
back to face me.
I peered down at them again as I voiced "Do you think they
will last?"
He mumbled something under his breath that I could not
make out before he asked, "Do you?"
"I hope so."
"He won't hurt her, will he?" I questioned.
The giant who was too big for the seat continued to study
me before he stated "No. You do not have to worry."
I nodded before changing the subject "How did you and
Brennan meet?"
We were rising into the air again when he answered "I was
an angry kid. I was walking along the beach kicking rocks
into the water. I kicked one hard and it hit the back of
Brennan's head."
A small laugh escaped me as I questioned "What did he do?
Did he come and hit you back?"
"No." He answered with a gruff sigh "Brennan kept trying to
talk to me. I ignored him but he continued to talk anyway.
He was persistent and he didn't take the hint to fuck off."
"No doubt you gave him your signature death glare or your
dismissing grunt. Some things never change." I mentioned
as I smiled at the thought "Maybe you were not as scary at
ten years old as you are now."
He cocked his head at my words.
"If I didn't know you and you glared or growled at me then I
would run home screaming." I remarked with a laugh.
"I doubt that." Stone grumbled while chuckling to himself
"You called me Lurch five minutes after meeting me."
"That is because you called my hair puke- coloured. Which I
still have not forgiven you for." I replied as I twirled a strand
of hair on my finger but then noticed its colour "I actually
regret removing the green."
He did not reply. He only continued to watch as I frowned at
my brown pieces of hair.
Noticing below me, I motioned to Lana and Brennan "I hope
they pull away before the end of the ride. Imagine the kid's
and parent's faces if they were still heavily making out."
"Do you not want that?"
"Brennan's tongue down my throat?" I asked amusedly "No,
I don't want that that."
Stone's eyes darkened when he growled "No. You are not
having anybody else's tongue down your throat."
"And what will you do if someone tries to?" I challenged "Cut
it off and store it in a jar?"
He leaned closer and gnarled "Damn right, I will."
I tilted my head before referencing his question earlier
"What did you mean then?"
"Do you want romance?" He asked, his gravelly voice
growing slightly lower in volume.
I almost let out a laugh because I never imagined Stone
wanting to speak about such a thing as romance. I never
knew it was in his vocabulary.
My arms crossed over my chest when I rebutted "Why do
you want to know that?"
"Curiosity."
"I don't see anyone willing to stick around." I answered him
with a sigh "But it is okay. I am cool on my own."
The grumbling under his breath started again as I stared out
at the horizon. I tried to act non-perplexed and uninterested
in what he was darkly mumbling about.
My plan backfired because in the next thirty seconds I
surrendered to my curious side and asked, "What are you
grumbling at?"
He challenged with a half-smirk "Why do you want to know
that?"
I held eye contact with his obsidian pair of eyes and gave
him the same vague response he did me "Curiosity."
For the rest of the ride, I only broke from our staring contest
if it was to glance at the smirk on his mouth.
I really should have looked away, but I could not. It was like
a magnetic pull. Being trapped in a small pod on a Ferris
wheel made us impossibly close.
There was nowhere to escape from his intense stare and I
was entirely not sure if I wanted to escape or not.
The ride stopped and I took Stone's hand as he helped me
down onto the ground.
We were greeted by the new happy couple who told us all
about their romantic venture.
Brennan lowered his head towards me and whispered "Ella,
why is Stone glaring at me?"
Stone was glaring at him with a scowl worn on his mouth.
His black eyes were narrowed while he started at the lack of
space between me and Brennan.
I ignored him as I walked in front with Lana who was ready
to tell me all about Brennan's romantic speech.
After a few hours together on the pier and when the sun
disappeared and drowned into the sea, we all said our
goodbyes.
The two men mentioned that they had to meet some friends
before they left us to walk home.
The only thing on my mind was my newest furry friend. The
reminder that Stone kept his end of the deal.
I squeezed the large panda bear Pete the Second as I
walked home with a large grin on my face.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirteen
Sunday was always a day that I looked at with mixed
feelings. It was a good day because it meant that it was the.
It was a bad day because it meant the school week would
start again in a matter of hours.
The weeks were a never-ending loop. The days trapped in
school felt dragged out. Then the weekend went by in a
flash. One of my theories was about how time chose when
to be cruel.
I considered picking up a different hobby other than reading
to pass the time but then I decided against it. I was far too
unathletic and lazy.
I would usually spend all day Sunday in the house, but I
decided to go for a drive and let Kermit venture away from
its parking spot outside my house.
My car Kermit did not like moving. Perhaps it was because
my car was lazy like me or because it was not used to
driving so far out of the city.
The car began making weird noises.
I thought about turning back and driving home but I had a
purpose for my long drive.
I wanted my green hair back.
Screw what my father thought and what anyone else
thought. I was Ella with green hair and I did not need to
apologise for that. Neither did I have to change myself to
suit someone else.
The weather was awful as I headed further on route for the
hair dye. It was humid and uncomfortably hot but there was
no trace of sunshine in the sky. This had caused the car to
feel like a steam room. I turned the air conditioning onto try
and cool down.
Halfway to the drug store and right in the middle of the
road, Kermit's noises turned into loud ones. It turned from
squeaks that sounded like the muppet I had named the car
after to massive bangs of metal crashing together.
The car jolted and I slammed on the brakes.
After a few breaths, I considered my options as I drove
slowly to a random opening on the road.
A million questions went round in my head. I wondered if
Kermit was dead and if the car could be resurrected. I
wondered where the closest mechanic was and how much it
would cost to get the car fixed.
Googling the nearest repair shop and garage was the most
sensible thing to do. I feared if I drove any further then the
car and I would be toast.
The nearest shop turned out to be one a mile and a half
away called Mike's Motors.
Carefully, I drove slowly while following the directions on my
phone. The GPS app took me down a road full of abandoned-
looking buildings and a few factories. The whole estate
looked like it was run by zombies.
Mike's Motors was a small green building at the end of a
narrow road. The shutters were up which allowed me to see
inside the mechanical workshop. A car was on a small ramp
and from the rattling noises sounding from it, it was getting
repaired.
I got out of the car and took in the surroundings. I looked
around the outside of the garage where a few racks of tires
were found along with a parked black motorbike.
The most noticeable thing about the auto repair shop was
the sign hanging off the roof of the building. The name of
the place was written alongside an animated picture of an
older man who I assumed was the owner.
A man's voice interrupted me from my study of the sign
"Hello."
The voice belonged to the animated sign man come to life.
It was almost humorous how alike the man looked to the
cartoon drawing. He had a small round body with a large
bald head. He wore a friendly smile that matched the large
one above his head on the roof of his business.
I found myself smiling back at him.
"Hi! I am really sorry to turn up randomly. My car started
making really funny noises while I was driving." I explained
to him, keeping a friendly smile on my face "Would there be
any chance of you taking a look at it or are you busy?"
"Of course not." The old mechanic assured with a grin "I will
look over your car right away."
"Thank you." I sighed in relief.
"Would you like to come inside and wait while I do?" The
man questioned before adding "The office has a great hot
chocolate machine."
I let out a small laugh before nodding "How could I say no to
that?"
"I'm Mike by the way." He told me as he turned and led us
into the building.
"I would never have guessed." I sarcastically remarked as I
pointed to the sign while we walked into the workshop "I'm
Ella."
The old man chuckled at my comment before responding
"Nice to meet you, Ella. Great car by the way."
I did not know if he was making fun of me or not. Even I
could admit that my car was a little shitty.
"Kermit is on death's door." I pointed out while stealing a
glance back at my small car "I'm just hoping you can save
it."
His grey eyebrows rose as the mechanic tilted his head at
me and asked, "Your car is called Kermit?"
"Yeah." I answered before feeling the need to explain "I
thought it was a funny name at the time. The car being
green and all."
Mike looked around like the workshop like he was searching
for something or someone. He then quickly brought his
attention back to me. More specially, he brought his
attention back to my hair.
"Did you by any chance have green hair?" Mike the
mechanic asked.
This was perhaps not a friendly old man. He could have
been a stalker. Maybe even a killer. He might have been a
mechanic so he could hide my body in the trunk of a car.
I considered my options carefully.
I could have rushed to my car but that just happened to be
broken. I could have run away but I was just as slow as a
tortoise. I could have roundhouse-kicked him like the karate
kid, but he was still an elderly man which made me a
horrible person.
"Yes. I did." I lamely replied with a shrug.
His face morphed into a mischievous grin as he shouted in
the direction of a door "Stone!"
I froze where I stood and hoped that stone was another
word for a spanner or some other mechanical tool.
The first thing I saw when the person entered the room was
black. I let my eyes roam over the black jeans and the black
tank shirt that showed off the muscles and the black
tattoos.
Taking up all the space of the doorframe in all of his glory
was Stone.
He had engine grease on his thick arms and a little on his
rough-looking face. He appeared sweaty and dirty and hot.
Stone's hands were big and rough and covered in black
grease. His thick calloused fingers flexed at his sides with a
confident dexterity that demanded to be watched.
I was sure of two things. One was that I was never going to
be more attracted to another man in my life. The other was
that I needed a new set of panties.
An inferno of heat pulsed its way through my body and
made my back shoot up straight. The hot sensation lingered
at my core and between my legs. The extinguishable feeling
that had first surfaced the night I met the giant quickly
shook my legs again.
He was a vicious wall of honed muscle and a colossal-sized
statue of inked artwork.
I closed my lips and breathed through my nose and then I
finally forced out a shaky sentence "What are you doing
here, Lurch?"
The widened pair of dark eyes flicked across my body in
shock. As if they could not believe I was standing there in
front of him.
His big burly body leaned against a wall a few metres away
from where I was standing. His gaze was still locked on my
face when his greased-up hands flexed again by his sides.
"I work here." The gruff voice finally spoke up.
It took me a good minute of stunned silence to think back to
dinner with Armstrong's where he mentioned he was a
mechanic.
Out of all of the garages in the whole of Santa Monica, I
managed to end up at the one he worked at.
Stone was to his full towering height as he pushed his
muscular build off the wall and made his way over to me.
His ginormous body neared as he stole back the distance
between himself and me. 
The deep voice spoke again "What are you doing here?"
I forced myself to keep a serious expression and tone when I
replied, "To see you."
One of his dark eyebrows rose as he tilted his head
downwards so that he could study me further.
"Just kidding!" I laughed before telling him the real reason
"Kermit has died."
The old mechanic next to us chuckled and reminded us both
that he was standing there.
Mike turned to Stone and informed him "As soon as she said
Kermit, I knew it was your Ella."
I felt my eyes widen.
"His Ella?" I mumbled under my breath "What the hell is that
supposed to mean?"
The giant looming over my body narrowed his eyes down at
me.
"I can't believe this." I spoke up again to try and keep
myself distracted from the heat running through my
bloodstream "It is like my life is a labyrinth and at every end
there is Stone. I can't escape you."
His chuckle was a deep rumbling sound that made my
stomach flip.
Stone then looked back down at me with a serious
expression when he uttered demandingly "What happened
to you, Medusa?"
"I was driving to get some hair dye. Then my car made a
massive booming noise." I sighed before explaining myself
"I googled the nearest repair shop, and I ended up here."
The harsh line of his jaw stuck out as he grounded his
molars.
"She has probably blown the gasket." The giant grumbled
towards the other man in the room before he turned back to
me and added "You might as well just get a new car."
"How could you say such a thing?" I accused, knowing he
knew how much I loved my car.
"It is a hunk of junk."
I inhaled loudly to let him know that the idea itself was
shocking.
Kermit was old but irreplaceable. I also did not have enough
money to afford a new car unless I raided my dad's room for
cash.
"How long will it take to fix?" I asked aloud.
"Two or three days." Stone gruffly replied.
"How much is it going to cost?" 
The grumpy good-looking face scowled even further as he
growled "No."
I tilted my head at the one-word answer.
"So, it is going to be cheap to fix?" I concluded with a sigh of
relief.
Stone shook his head once and sternly assured with a
grumble "I'm not going to charge you."
"Why not?"
I peered over to Mike. I was shocked to see that the boss
and the owner of the place did not interject about Stone not
charging me for the repair of my car.
Mike was grinning from ear to ear as his gaze flicked
between the large man and me.
"Don't you worry, Ella." The old man reassured "Stone is a
fine mechanic. I trained him myself. Your car is in safe
hands."
I turned back to Stone and questioned up at him "I thought
you said you just moved to Santa Monica?"
"This is a new shop. My old shop was a good hour and a half
away but this area had lower expenses, so I packed up and
moved my business here." Mike was the one to answer
when the other man in the room stayed silent "Stone would
drive the distance to come and work before he moved here
permanently."
I forced my gaze down the floor. I started picking at a strand
of loose thread on my jeans as I avoided the dark eyes
watching me closely.
"What is the catch for you fixing my car?" I queried before
joking "Do I have to sit and listen to you sing Grease
Lightening while you do it?"
The corner of Stone's lip hiked up for a second.
"You were right." Mike let out a laugh as he walked over and
reached up to pat the large back of the giant "She is so
cute."
My eyes widened once again as I looked between the two
mechanics.
"I would have known it was your Ella sooner if she still had
her green hair." Mike added, his grin still lighting up his
wrinkly face.
I was stunned into silence.
"I was planning on getting my green back." I mentioned,
choosing to ignore the other part of his stent ends "I was
heading to get dye when Kermit threatened my life."
Stone's gravelly voice filled the air as he delivered
authoritatively "I will take you."
"What?" I blurted out in surprise.
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat before he rasped out
"I will take you to the store and then home."
It was not a request. It was a command.
"That is okay." I quickly dismissed "I will just walk."
I took a step backwards away from him. He followed the
movement with his narrowed eyes like he was glaring at the
air between us.
His rough voice turned to a growl when he ordered "You are
not walking."
"I am sure it's not that far."
He took one large step towards me so that his gruff words
rumbled through my body "You are not walking."
I crossed my arms over my chest and shot him an annoyed
look.
The giant lowered his voice as it turned taunting with an
underlying authority to it "I promise not to sing Grease
Lightening."
I felt my lip twitch up as I surrendered "Fine."
His wide shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Talking about Grease, where is your leather jacket?" I
questioned before commenting "I thought it was attached to
your skin."
Stone looked down at his big bare tattooed arms as he
mentioned "It gets hot in here."
I could see that. I had definitely noticed.
My attention fell from his face to his muscular arms that
looked like they held an unmeasurable amount of strength.
I shuffled on my two feet and tried to discreetly squeeze my
thighs together.
Shaking out all Stone related thoughts out of my head, I
tried to focus on the words Mike was uttering as he spoke.
The old man slowly made his way through to another room
before he came back with a clipboard and pen.
"I just need some details before you go." Mike mentioned to
me as he danced the pencil between his fingers "What is
your last name?"
"Miller." I replied.
The dark eyes continuing to watch me narrowed slightly.
"Phone number?" Mike questioned.
I recited my number, and the old mechanic jotted it down.
He then took my keys and waddled his way back through
into the other room of the auto repair shop.
"How is your boss so cool about you leaving to take me
home and working on my car for free?" I questioned while
peering back up at the large man.
Stone did not reply.
"I just hope you don't do that for all people." I pointed out
with a laugh "You will put that poor man out of business."
"I only do it for people with green hair." His deep voice
uttered lowly.
"Do you know any other people with green hair?" I asked.
"I used to have a troll as a kid. It used to live under my bed."
He replied, his gruff tone playful "That had green hair."
"A troll under your bed?" I repeated angrily before I
threatened up at him "One of these days I'm going to take
you down and I pray for you then."
His eyes roamed the whole of my small body while the
corner of his lip twitched.
I shook my head and huffed out "I can't believe you just
compared me to a troll."
"The troll was cute and tiny."
I took a step closer to him and raised myself on my tiptoes
so that my chin lingered near the bottom of his chest.
"The difference between me and your troll is that I will never
go anywhere near your bed." I rebutted.
I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.
My heels fell back on the ground and my hands twitched to
move up and cover my heated face.
The man towering over me leaned over and uttered his dark
promise "We will see about that."
I shivered before gaining the courage to look back up at
him.
I had no idea what to reply so I randomly spoke the first
thing that came to mind "Was that your motorbike outside?"
Stone remained close as he nodded once.
"Is that how you are taking me home?" I questioned, my
voice coming out quieter than I had intended.
He nodded, his mouth hiking up in amusement at my
reaction.
"Then what are we waiting for, Iron Giant?" I was practically
jumping up and down in excitement as I squealed "Let's go
for a ride."
I skipped ahead to the bike outside while revelling at the no
sign of his usual truck.  Stone followed closely behind me
The large man watched me circle his bike with a small
smirk.
"You look like a kid on Christmas." The deep voice
mentioned with a chuckle.
"Why do you think I tolerate you?" I delivered eagerly while
grinning at him "It has all been leading up to this. I'm
getting on your motorbike."
Stone shook his head. His jawbone ticked and his cheek
twitched as he sauntered over to the bike. He swung one of
his strong legs over the motorbike before his large hands
gripped the handlebars and he revved the engine.
"Get on, Medusa." He ordered while holding out a helmet for
me.
I climbed on the seat behind him. I scooted myself closer to
him and it suddenly became apparent how close the
proximity would be for the ride.
The cushioned seat of the bike was a tight squeeze. That
was due to the extremely huge man occupying all the
space.
I had never been on a bike before, but I assumed I would
have to hold on to him tightly.
My hand reached out and grabbed the helmet from him but
then I noticed there was only one.
"You only have one helmet." I felt the need to point out to
him.
Stone glanced at the black helmet before continuing to
watch me unfalteringly.
I held the helmet back out to him when I insisted "You need
it."
"Put it on." He grounded out demandingly.
"What about you?" I asked.
"It is dangerous." His voice grew deeper as the words left his
large hollow-sounding chest "I am not going to let anything
bad happen to you."
"I would make a smaller mess of mush on the road." I
deadpanned.
He moved in a series of frantic feral movements. He
grabbed the helmet from my hand, his warm calloused skin
brushing mine in the process. He then gently placed the
helmet on my head and secured it into place.
The giant remained silent as he switched on the engine and
made the bike roar to life.
The bike's vibrations sent a jolt of adrenaline through me
and made my body move towards the large one in front.
Before we could go, Mike rushed out as fast as he could
manage while calling to us "Wait!"
Stone did not turn off the engine, but he kept his feet on the
ground.
Mike made eye contact with me instead of Stone when he
informed: "I tried putting your name into the computer
system but there were no results."
I frowned in confusion and then I realised what the problem
was.
"Ella is just my nickname." I admitted begrudgingly.
The man in front of me turned his head around rapidly. It
was such a quick movement that I was surprised he had not
snapped his neck while turning to face me.
"Your name is not Ella?" Stone's deep voice sounded vexed
and confused as he grumbled the words quietly.
Mike seemed to be amused at our interaction while he
asked "What is it your name then?"
"Bond." I answered back with a grin "James Bond."
"It suits you." Mike joked, laughing to himself.
The two mechanics continued to stare at me as they waited
for a real answer.
My name was awful. My name would give Stone something
other than my height and my hair to tease me about.
I tried to mouth it to Mike so Stone would not see it
"Drizella."
The older man scrunched up his eyebrows like he could not
understand me.
I mouthed it again "Drizella."
Mike shook his head and shrugged "Sorry. I can’t quite make
you out."
"I give up." I sighed in frustration before announcing "It’s
Drizella."
The old mechanic turned on his heel and headed back inside
before he called over his shoulder "Yeah I know. I
understood you the first time."
He was obviously on Team Stone. He managed to get me to
reveal my embarrassing name in front of the giant.
Stone repeated my name. It was like he was testing it on his
tongue. Like he was tasting the syllables. He seemed to
enjoy how it danced on his taste buds because he smirked.
I rose on the seat and leant forward so I could whisper into
his ear "Call me that again and I will shove you onto the
road and then I will steal your motorbike."
He moved his head so that my lips were no longer at his ear.
My mouth now lingered millimetres from his own.
I could feel the warm air of his breath on my skin as he
remained close.
"Do you not like your name?" The deep voice questioned.
I did not move away from him. I let my gaze drift from his
mouth to his eyes.
His irises were so black and dilated that I could see in the
reflection of them that my cheeks were flushed.
"No, I don't." I finally answered him "It sounds like a cake
topping or an infection. I'm not sure which one yet."
He let out a single chuckle while I forced myself to pull back
and sit down on the small, cushioned part of the bike.
I did not add that I was named after the wicked and ugly
stepsister from Cinderella. I knew it would only lead to more
taunting on his part.
I was also starting to warm to the nickname Medusa, and I
did not want him to stop calling me it.
"You are going to have to hold on tighter than that." The
deep guttural voice mentioned, "We do not want you
falling."
I wrapped my arms around his waist, moulding our bodies
together. My hands felt on fire as I clutched onto him. My
inner thighs pressed against his legs and my chest leaned
on his back.
Every cell in my body that was touching him was set alight
and I almost let out a gasp at the electric feeling that pulsed
through my body.
The muscular body I had wrapped my arms around was
moving. The hard muscular chest was moving up and down
and the deep noise lodged in his throat made its way out of
him.
I had to stretch my arms painfully to remain clutched around
him. I did not manage to fully wrap my arms around his
large body, so I had to press my chest harder against his
back.
Stone let out another low guttural noise at the contact.
The wind blew through my hair as he hit the pedal and
headed down the street.
His speed was fast, but I felt like he was holding back. I felt
like he was going slower than he usually would and I felt like
it had something to do with me.
I clutched him tighter as a sign for him to go faster. I heard
his chuckle over the rev of the engine before he sped up.
He parked outside a drug store and waited for me as I ran
quickly inside and grabbed a hair dye.
I was surprised that he waited for me instead of leaving me
stranded.
Even after half an hour on the bike, the excitement never
faded away. I never wanted the ride to end.
He did not speak as he drove. The only thing I heard from
him was a rough grumbling noise lodged deep in his chest
when we turned a corner and I held on tighter to him.
My apartment block came into sight when he turned the
bike into a free space up against the sidewalk of my street.
Stone removed himself effortlessly off the bike before he
offered his hand to me.
I took his hand while his free arm wrapped around my waist
and lifted me off the leather seat.
After he gently set me down on the ground, he opened the
storage part of the bike and took out the dye that I got at
the drug store.
He offered the dye to me while he gruffed out the question
"Fairytale green?"
I took the dye from him and nodded in confirmation
"Fairytale green."
"Good." He grumbled in approval.
To hide my smile, I turned back around and walked up the
steps to the front door of my building.
A sigh left me before I turned around and faced the man
next to the motorbike.
"Thank you for taking me home and for offering to fix my
car." I delivered to him softly before I added more sternly
"Which by the way, I am paying for."
His eyes narrowed and he sent me a scowl that warned me
not to argue with him.
"I am giving you the money when it is fixed." I stubbornly
stated.
"No. You are not." His deep voice informed before adding "I
would do it for any acqenemy."
I tried to fight back another smile while I looked down at the
ground to stop myself from staring at him.
"I better be your only acqenemy, Lurch." I called to him.
"Don't worry, Medusa." He chuckled "You are."
Satisfied with his answer, I should have turned around and
walked into the building. I should have left all my thoughts
about him at the door, but I could not move.
I was stuck staring at him.
He did not look in a hurry to leave either.
"I can't believe I am saying this." I mumbled under my
breath before I spoke up towards the giant "Do you want to
come in for a while? I have The Addams Family on DVD."
I had never seen him move as fast as he did as he followed
me inside.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fourteen
Stone motioned to the screen and grumbled "Why do you
think I’m like him again?"
He was sprawled out on my living room sofa with one of his
arms set firmly on the cushioned part of the seat behind my
head.
I had never noticed how small my sofa was until the giant
sat down and took up the whole space. He made everything
seem smaller.
Throughout the start of the movie, I tried to budge over and
give him more space. It never worked because every time I
looked away and then back, he had bridged the gap
between us.
"Lurch is tall and scary." I explained while laughing at the
figure on the screen "You are tall and scary."
"You do not seem scared of me." He mentioned with a
frown, nodding towards our touching legs.
"The closeness is not my fault." I pointed out "It is all to
blame on your wide shoulders."
He did not look happy as I forced myself to shimmy away
further from him.
"Move closer, Medusa." He demanded with a scowl.
I turned from the screen to him and raised my eyebrow
while I questioned "Why?"
"You are hanging off the edge of the sofa."
"If I move any closer then I am going to end up on your lap."
I mentioned to him, eyeing up the small scale between our
bodies.
He did not say anything. His lip quirked up as he moved his
attention back to the television.
Pretending that I was unhappy about it, I let out an
exaggerated sigh as I moved closer until one of my legs
propped up on his.
For someone with such a cold expression and attitude, he
was surprisingly warm.
He was like a giant teddy bear with a killer glare.
The Addams Family played in the background. I tried to
focus on what was happening but it was really hard.
Especially when Stone's hand was nearing my leg.
His large hand ventured under the thigh of my right leg until
he lifted it up and placed it on his lap.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice coming out as a
squeak.
He remained silent. He only took my other leg and placed it
with my other so that my body swivelled and I was lying
across him.
When I watched him in peripheral vision, I noticed that he
was not focused on the movie. His attention was always on
me and he was not even trying to hide his fixed stare.
"Medusa." He called quietly.
I hummed in reply.
"Where is your Dad?"
The question threw me off. I wondered why he wanted to
know and why the question had come to his mind.
"He is still on his business trip." I answered while crossing
my arms and sitting back on the sofa.
"When is he back?" The gravelly voice spoke as the dark
eyes looked down at my crossed arms.
"Maybe next week."
Stone's voice went deeper and more demanding as he
interrogated "What does he do?"
I tried not to panic. I squeezed my arms around myself and
looked around the room while I thought of what to say.
"A real estate agent." I finally mustered up an answer as I
started at the haunted house on the screen instead of him.
He did not look convinced. He frowned at me while the hand
behind my back gently brushed my neck.
Goosebumps covered my skin as the calloused warm fingers
brushed again over the back of my neck and through my
hair.
I felt I had to sell the lie so I came up with an obscure
excuse so he would not question it "He is selling houses in
Paraguay."
"Why did you not go with him?"
"What is with the interrogation?" I huffed out a sigh while I
replied to him “I have school. I had to stay because I need
my education."
"I doubt that." Stone chuckled but it came out as low
strained noise "You are already a massive know-it-all."
At the words know-it-all, I grabbed the pillow from behind
me and threw it at his stupid smug face.
He caught it before it hit him while his deep chuckle filled
the air again. He threw the pillow back at me but with less
force than I used which I was grateful for.
If he threw the pillow with even a quarter of his normal
strength, then I feared I would go flying into the
atmosphere.
"Like you are not a massive know-it-all too." I mumbled with
a slight pout "I know that you are secretly a nerd."
Stone sent me a small glare but as soon as I let out a laugh
at his grumpy face, his features softened.
For the next hour, we sat in comfortable silence as we
watched the movie. I laughed at the deadpan humour and
the eccentric darkness of the story and tried to seem
nonchalant that Stone was watching me rather than the
film.
It surprised me how comfortable I was in the position on the
sofa. My head rested against the armrest as my feet laid on
top of Stone's leg. His large hands laid on my calves which
warmed up my whole body.
When the credits to the movie rolled, I was unwilling to
move. I did not want to leave the warmth that spread
snuggled me like a blanket.
I sighed before looking up at him and asking, "Do you want
to stay and watch the second movie?"
His lip quirked up infinitesimally. I had to stretch up to see it,
but it was definitively a small smile.
"There is a second movie?" The deep rough voice asked.
I gasped in faux horror "You haven't seen the sequel?"
He chuckled and lifted his arms until they crossed and
rested behind his head. He wore a smug expression which I
watched with intent instead of glancing down at where his t-
shirt had risen at the bottom.
"I will stay, Medusa." He grumbled out to me before adding
in a teasing tone "Only because you insisted."
Rolling my eyes as I got up, I walked away from him and
through to my bedroom. I opened the drawer of DVDs and
grabbed the second movie before I noticed what was on my
bed.
Pete the Second was perched between my pillows.
I moved it just in case Stone seen and it made a comment
about how I had it there because he had won it for me.
Not that I was planning for him to be allowed in my room.
Again.
When I got back to the living room, the giant figure was
taking the first movie out of the disc machine. I passed him
the new one and took the old one back, our fingers brushing
for a few seconds in the process.
Stone joined me back on the sofa and reclaimed the larger
portion of the small seat. I was squished between him and
the side of the sofa until he moved my legs back onto his
lap.
As the theme song played, he looked around the cramped
apartment and voiced "Your house is not what I expected."
I tilted my head at him and questioned "What did you
expect?"
"Something more Ella."
Preparing myself for a smart comment from him, I frowned
as I questioned "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Even your bedroom walls are plain." He uttered lowly with a
rough sigh "I thought you would have something more
green."
"Yeah. I hate my bedroom." I told him in agreement "I plan
on painting it but I haven't had the chance. I can't reach the
whole wall."
"I am surprised you can reach the door handle with your
tininess."
I grabbed the pillow from behind his back and launched at
his chest. It did not do anything damage. It only bounced off
him and landed somewhere on the floor.
"You infuriate me." I bit out as I crossed my arms.
His lip quirked up as he looked down at me glaring up at
him.
All the amusement drained from his expression, and it was
quickly replaced with a more serious emotion as he
demanded to know "Why don't you get your dad to paint
your room?"
"I told you why." I swallowed down the truth and bit out the
lie "He is in Uruguay."
My words caught his attention because his eyes frantically
scanned my face. His dark irises pierced and penetrated my
soul.
"I thought you said he was in Paraguay." Stone murmured so
lowly that it came out as more of a growl.
"Same thing." I quickly blabbered out before I sent a silent
apology to the people of South America.
He narrowed his eyes as he looked away from me and down
at the ground. He looked to be deep in thought as he
scrubbed a hand along his stubbled jaw that was ticking in
an angry rhythm.
A few minutes passed and neither of us spoke. We each took
turns glancing at each other.
"I was not shocked when I saw all your books in your room,
little nerd." He remarked to change the subject "Your whole
floor was covered in them."
I ignored his name-calling and decided to be a proud
bibliophile as I replied, "I do love books."
"Is Edgar Allan Poe your all-time favourite?" He questioned
before adding "It was on top of your pile, and it looked like it
had been read a few hundred times."
"Try a few thousand." I confirmed "The poems and the short
stories are some my favourites. I reread them like every
week."
Stone chuckled at my enthusiasm before he questioned
"Which work by him is your favourite?"
"That is like asking a mother who her favourite child is." I
joked before I answered his question properly "I really like
The Tell-Tale Heart."
"Is that why you let me in?" He challenged, his dark eyes
continuing to search my face "To kill me and keep my heart
under your floorboard."
I could feel my lip twitch as he referenced the story.
My respect for the leather jacket-wearing giant had gone up.
Slightly.
To show I was not taken aback that he knew the poem, I
laughed his words off "I only keep things that are valuable.
That doesn’t include your heart."
As an interesting scene appeared on the screen, I side
glanced at him with a smile "So you are a book nerd then?"
The gravelly rough voice grumbled "No."
"It is okay, Lurch." I let out another laugh as I winked at him
"Your secret is safe with me."
His pupils seemed to dilate as he listened to the sounds of
my laughs.
"If you were a nerd then it might make me like you more." I
mentioned in hopes that he would admit it.
"You like me just fine." He gruffly released the sentence
from his chest like he was trying to convince himself rather
than me.
I looked around and noticed that I had run out of pillows to
throw at him.
"No." I smiled as I denied his statement "I really don’t."
"Brennan's mom reads a lot of books." Stone's deep voice
mumbled quietly "I might have read one or two from her."
"What are his parents like?" I questioned, not knowing
where the sudden curiosity came from.
"They are good people. I consider them my parents." He
stated before he went on to tell me "One of the first times I
got kicked out of school was because I got into a fight with
this fucker that said that they were not my family because
they had a different colour of skin."
"What an asshole." I said aloud.
I did not bother to ask who won the fight. The answer was
obvious. Stone had to have been the tallest and most well-
built person I had ever seen. He was also the most
intimidating.
The giant and I fought verbally but he would be the last
person I would get into a physical fight with.
I was one hundred percent sure he could squash anyone.
"How many times have you been kicked out of school?" I
questioned, realising that he made it sound like there had
been loads of occasions.
Silence hung in the air for a while.
Stone peered at my legs that were resting against his lap,
and he did not meet my eye when he answered
"Seventeen."
"What for?" I asked gently, trying my best to hide my
astonishment.
"Fighting."
"Great." I joked with a teasing smile "I have let Rocky Balboa
into my apartment."
His head rapidly turned to the side and his eyes quickly
traversed my face. His jaw clenched and unclenched in a
vicious tempo as he removed a hand from my leg and ran it
through his inky black hair.
"Ella." His deep voice was hoarse and quiet when he
assured strongly "I would never hurt you. I would rather—"
"I know." I cut him off by shaking my head "It was just a
joke."
A rough, ragged breath left him as he relaxed back against
the sofa.
I felt the need to change the topic of conversation, so I
asked, "Did Brennan get into trouble a lot?"
"Not as much as me." Stone answered, not meeting my eye
once again "I usually took the blame for him when he did
something wrong."
I could understand that. Brennan and Stone were as close as
blood brothers. They were raised together. I had a similar
feeling about Lana who was not even my sister. I would take
the blame for something she did.
I thought about Stone said he considered Brennan's parents
his own. I wondered what they thought about him getting
expelled.
"I bet your parents were not too happy about you fighting
and getting kicked out of school."
"No. They were not." He affirmed with a single chuckle
"Brennan's mom Kelly was mad but not as mad as she was
when I got my first tattoo."
I let my gaze drift across the lines of ink on his exposed
muscular arms and then I rested my attention on the large
skull-covered hand.
"You have quite a few." I mentioned before asking "How
often do you get them done?"
"I go every few months."
"I noticed on the beach that you don't have your back
tattooed." I spoke up, my words sheepish "Are you going to
get that tatted up too?"
I let my head fall back further on the armrest so that I could
see him better.
Stone nodded.
Curiosity took the better of me and I asked another question
"So what is going to be your next tattoo?"
The corner of his lip hiked upwards, and his jawbone stuck
out as he throatily uttered “I have an idea for one."
Over the next two hours, I found it hard to follow along with
the movie. The small discreet touches and the stolen
glances made it hard to think about anything else other
than him.
The thick muscly arms rested on my legs. He would let his
vein-struck hands traverse up to my thighs. He even went
as far as touching my stomach for a second.
It happened too often to be an accident.
I had moved further and further down the sofa throughout
the movie. My head was on the cushioned part of the sofa
and the bottom of my bum was perched on the side of his
leg.
It was almost the climax of the film when my phone rang.
Tearing my eyes off the television screen, I fetched my
phone and read the caller id before I answered.
"Hi Lana." I spoke into the phone while I eyed Stone in my
peripheral vision.
"We haven't spoken all day." She mentioned with a sigh
"What have you been up to?"
"Not that much."
"Brennan took me to this Italian restaurant." Lana told me
with a dreamy sigh "It was really romantic and nice."
"How cute." I joked with a monotonous tone "I’m very
jealous."
"Don't be like that, Ella." She laughed before assuring "You
know that you are the real love of my life."
"Yeah. I know." I smiled to myself as I answered her.
"I just wanted to check in and make sure you were okay."
Her light happy voice came through from the other end of
the line "What are you up to?"
I looked between the television and the giant while replying
"I... I’m watching a movie."
Stone cocked his head at me and one of his dark eyebrows
raised a single millimetre.
I sent him a glare while I spoke into the phone "Are you still
on your date with Brennan?"
"Not really. He is rushing to leave." She sighed her words
disappointedly "Brennan is trying to get a hold of Stone."
On cue, Stone's phone started ringing from the pocket in his
jeans.
The large man in my living room stood up with his phone in
his hand. He strode away into the hallway while he brought
the phone to his ear.
The last thing I heard before he disappeared into my kitchen
was his harsh rough voice mutter "Fuck. It is quarter to
nine."
I remained lying down on the sofa as I quietly spoke into the
phone "Do you know where the two of them go at nights
yet?"
"Brennan says it has to do with his family." She mentioned
before moving swiftly on "Would it be okay if he took me to
school tomorrow?"
"Of course, it is." I assured her "My car is currently getting
repaired so I will need to walk to school anyway."
"I love you, Freak Show."
I smiled to myself as I said back "I love you too, Barbie."
We said our goodbyes before hanging up.
Stone sauntered back into the room without a word. He
picked up my legs from the sofa and then sat before placing
them back down so that they were on top of him.
"Is there somewhere you need to be?" I asked him.
He shook his head. Once.
"You don't have to stay here, you know." I informed him with
a smile "If there is somewhere else you need to be then you
can leave."
His permanent scowl deepened, and his eyes grew darker.
He sent me a stern expression that was usually followed by
a growl or grumble.
"I don't want you to feel you have to stay here. I can always
watch the movie myself and—"
"I am not leaving." He lowly growled.
I could not hold back the smile as I sank back down on the
sofa and resumed watching the movie.
The television became background noise as my eyes began
to feel heavy. I let them shut after it became too much of an
effort to keep them open.
My body seemed to be awake because it refused to rest. It
wanted something desperately.
I wanted the warmth that tickled my legs, so I adjusted
myself and felt around for the source of the heat.
My hands trailed to a hard yet soft surface. I pushed it and it
willingly moved so I could crawl on top of it. I wrapped my
arms and legs around the something that brought me
warmth and security.
I let out a sound of content as the warm pillow moved a
little. It was so comfortable that I found myself relaxing and
snuggling into the well-built frame.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifteen
The worst thing about my apartment was the sunlight. It
shone through the windows from the early hours.
As well as something Brobdingnagian poking my leg and
waking me up, the light from the window interrupted my
sleep.
It was one of the best sleeps I had ever had.
I frowned at getting woke up until I realised what I was
laying on or more accurately who I was laying on.
My palms were flat against the moving chest that I had
thought was a pillow. I felt around and noticed that the thing
I thought was an inanimate object had hard toned muscles.
The more I rubbed at my eyes, the more my mouth dropped
in shock.
All that I remembered from the night before was The
Addams Family playing and me closing my eyes before
falling asleep. I dreamt I was sleeping on a big comfy cloud
and wrapping my legs around the source of comfort.
It was not a dream, and it was not a cloud. It was a large
body that I had my legs wrapped around.
I had slept on top of Stone. All night.
At the realisation that I had crawled on top of him and that it
was a Monday, I let out a groan into the large chest.
A sense of panic took over me and I was determined to get
off him before the large body before he had noticed what
had happened.
Slowly and steadily, I tried to raise my body upwards, but it
was proving difficult. Mainly because the thick arms holding
on to me acted as a vice around my waist.
"Medusa." The hoarse voice under me spoke, "I am awake."
I blinked twice and looked up at him from my place again
this chest.
His voice in the morning was even deeper and rougher. The
sexy morning voice was the best sort of alarm to wake up
to.
I sat up quickly and jumped off him while exclaiming "Why
did you not push me off you? Or throw me away?"
Stone sat up, his t-shirt creased and his hair a tousled
perfect mess.
"Why would I do that?" He questioned gruffly.
My legs felt like jelly under me. I stretched before running a
hand through my hair.
My hair was a mess. It was tangled into one big bird's nest.
"With your bed head you do look like Medusa" Stone
chuckled, his voice still rough and hoarse.
"I didn't even get that chance to dye my hair back to green
because you were here." I gritted out while trying to comb
my fingers through my hair "Anyway, you are hypocrite.
Your hair is messy too."
The small smirk he wore grew in size. He was enjoying my
flushed state far too much.
Stone's veins on his left bicep bulged out as he tried to tame
the black short strands of his hair "That is because a certain
girl who slept on top of me kept touching it."
"Shut up!" I exclaimed, "It is too early in the morning to deal
with you."
I remained embarrassed as he still wore the small smirk on
my face. He continued to watch me as I paced the living
room with a red face.
"It was a coincidence that I ended up on top of you. I was
tired and I didn't know what I was doing." I felt the need to
defend myself "I have never done anything like that before."
He rose to his full towering height as he gnarled "I should
hope so. I would have to go and kill someone."
I blinked once and he was in front of me.
His huge torso blocked my view of anything else as he
lingered above me.
My stomach growled and I almost mistook it for being Stone.
To break the tension of our closeness, I peered up at him
and delivered quietly "Are you hungry?"
His dark eyes rested their sights on my lips when he
grumbled out one word "Ravenous."
"I make really great pancakes." I blurted out "Just pick an
ingredient."
"Apples."
This guy really did have an obsession with apples.
I nodded before I made my way through to the kitchen and
grabbed the ingredients.
I grabbed a glass bowl before adding eggs, milk and some
sugar to a mixture. I grabbed two apples from a bowl and
peeled them before I attempted to mash them.
After five attempts of trying to mash the apples with a
spoon, two arms came from either side of me and did it for
me.
Stone was standing directly behind me as he did so. His
heavy body pressed me as he continued to help, and he
leaned down so that his warm breath tickled the back of my
neck.
I turned my head and raised an eyebrow at him while I
curiously challenged "Can you crush an apple in one hand?"
He grabbed another apple from the bowl and after two
seconds of him gripping it tightly, it crushed under his
strength.
"Wow." I accidentally voiced and then I coughed before
crossing my arms "That is hardly impressive. I could even do
that, Lurch."
"Of course, you can, Medusa." He rebutted while chuckling
to himself as he took a seat at the island counter in the
middle of the kitchen.
I poured a little bit of the mixture into a frying pan so that
two separate pancakes were cooking at the same time.
The giant apple crusher had moved himself from his seat
and was now inspecting the inside of my fridge. My very
empty fridge.
"What are you doing?" I asked as I flipped the pancakes.
"Why is it the Grapes of Wrath in here?" He asked in his
demanding tone.
A laugh bubbled out of me as I put a hand on my hips while
facing him "Was that a book reference I just heard from
you?"
He ignored my comment while studying what I had in the
fridge and what I had to eat.
"You just referenced Steinbeck." I said in a sing-song voice.
"Why is there no food in here, Ella?" He barked unhappily.
I watched the pancakes as I lied "I have not been grocery
shopping yet."
He slammed the fridge door with force while going to sit
back on his chair.
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics before I put his two apple
pancakes on a plate and gave it to him. With the remaining
mixture, I put another two pancakes on the pan for myself
and waited for them to cook.
Turning around, I nervously questioned, "Are they okay—?"
My question stopped mid-sentence and hung in the air
because I did not need a verbal response.
Stone's plate was already empty.
I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing while I questioned
"Do you want another one?"
He nodded.
"I guess big guys do have big appetites." I muttered to
myself.
"Does that mean you have a small appetite then?" Stone
grumbled from behind me.
"I am not small!" I huffed and then I could not think of a
good comeback, so I ended up blurting out "I am going to
eat you!"
Stone tilted his head at me as his arms folded on the
counter.
"Actually, on second thoughts, breakfast is the most
important meal of the day." I said tauntingly to him.
My words enticed him to get up and move towards me. I
took a step back and he took one forwards. It kept going this
way until my back hit the kitchen countertop.
He stopped in front of me until our chests were merely a
breath away. He towered over me as his gaze ran up and
down my form like a hunter watching its prey.
My hands went behind me and gripped the surface as his
hands reached out and rested beside them. He leaned over
me, and it gave me a closer look at his dark obsidian eyes.
"Your point, Drizella?" He rasped out.
I used my grip on the counter to lift myself onto my toes
and to reach upwards so that I could whisper to him "I don't
think you taste good enough."
The large body pressed up on mine stilled.
The giant mumbled something under his breath before he
struck. He moved rapidly and feral like he could not hold
back any longer. He grabbed the back of my thighs and
lifted me off the ground.
I gasped at the feeling of his large hands on the back of my
thighs, and I had no other choice but to wrap my legs
around his midsection and my arms around the back of his
neck.
Stone set me on the kitchen counter. He kept between my
legs as he pulled back. It was far enough that he could look
me in the eye but not far enough for both of us to lose the
heated contact between our bodies.
His face moved until it was millimetres away from mine. His
lips brushed against the flushed skin of my face until he
lingered near the corner of my mouth.
"Only one way to find out." Stone released hoarsely from
the deepest darkest part of his chest.
Every cell and nerve knew he was near, and my blood
rushed towards my pounding heart.
It took everything inside of me not to grab his shirt and
bring him to where I wanted him to be.
The grip on my thighs tightened as he proceeded closer to
me. His long fingers sprawled out as he held onto me
tighter.
Just as his forehead leaned against mine, the loud siren of
the smoke alarm went off.
My eyes widened as I jumped out of his hold.
I switched off the cooker hob and took out the cremated
pancakes that were now the same colour as Stone's eyes.
After I waved the smoke alarm with a tea towel until it went
off, I noticed that Stone had remained in the same position.
The large back was to me, and his veiny hands were
gripping onto the countertop so hard that his knuckles were
turning white.
The moment was gone, and I was hit with reality.
I was seconds away kissing the large man and I had wanted
it more than anything.
I poked at the burnt pancake and let out a laugh to cut
through the tension "You can have this pancake if you
want."
Stone kept silent. The only noises that left him were a few
grumbles.
"Shit. We have school." I cursed when I remembered that we
were not the only two people in the world "I don't even have
Kermit."
He pushed off the counter and ran his hand along his
stubbled jaw as his deep voice filled the small space
between us "I will drive you to school this week."
"It is fine." I answered slightly breathily "I'm okay walking."
A rough noise from the back of his throat escaped him "I'm
taking you."
"Does that mean more rides on your motorbike?" I asked
with a hopeful smile.
He nodded with a small chuckle.
I ran through to my room to get changed for school. I ran
away from the tensity that came with our eyes locking.
I told myself that the near kiss in the kitchen was a moment
of madness. I planned to never mention or think about it
again.
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Sixteen
I was thinking about the near kiss experience.
Stone drove me to school. It caused a ripple of whispers
among the gossiping students when I turned up with him on
the motorbike.
When I had to wrap my arms around him on the way there,
it brought up flashbacks of that morning. I was just glad that
he had to face the road so he could not see my tomato-
coloured cheeks.
As soon as he parked at the school lot, I made an excuse
about how I was in a hurry to get to class and dashed away.
It was hard to admit but I, Ella Miller for the first time in my
life was lost for words.
I was too flushed to even offer him a semi-decent insult.
Nobody asked to my face why I had come to school with
Stone. The only questions people asked during the day was
where my green hair had gone. I answered them all the
same and said that I was planning to dye it back.
I left out the part that I was planning to the night before but
I got a little distracted climbing on top of a giant and falling
asleep there.
The period before lunch rolled around and I was dreading it.
I had managed to avoid speaking to Stone all day. I doubted
I would manage to ignore his existence when he sat so close
behind me.
Mr Dankworth was writing on the board when I took my seat
next to Lana. She offered me a smile before turning back
around to listen to the two guys conversation.
"Where were you last night?" Brennan asked the large male
next to him "Did you fall asleep at the garage?"
The only person that was not watching him was me. I looked
to the front and pretended like I was not interested in the
conversation.
Stone did not reply. He did not even grumble or grunt.
His silence was deafening. It seemed like he was in some
sort of rage. He usually gnarled when he was unhappy
about something, but the atmosphere of the classroom gave
away that what he was feeling was stronger than that.
"You have on the same clothes as yesterday." Brennan
pointed out "You couldn't have been at work because you
would have had spare clothes there."
I kept looking ahead and avoided the dark unfaltering stare.
"He wears the same thing every day." I spoke up "There is
only so much black clothes a man can get."
"Where were you last night?" Brennan asked, his voice full
of mischief and clarity as he spoke to me.
I realised how defensive I had sounded and how that might
have come across like I was defending Stone.
Lana questioned him with a confused frown "Why are you
asking her that?"
"Yeah." I added, "Why are you asking me that?"
"No reason." Brennan replied and I could hear the smirk in
his voice.
The lesson continued and none of us said anymore for the
next half an hour.
I thought the conversation was over until Lana leaned to the
side and whispered in my ear "Maybe Stone has a secret
girlfriend."
Her voice was not quiet nor discreet because Brennan
commented "That is what I was thinking, Lovely Lana."
I snorted because they were so wrong.
Stone did not have a lover.
Then I thought about it harder. He was secretive and he
never spoke about himself so maybe he did have a secret
girlfriend.
I could have come clean and told Lana and Brennan that he
was with me but I did not want to.
I wanted to keep last night between us. A secret that I would
keep close to my chest and the front of my mind.
"What do you think, Medusa?" The deep voice filled my
senses.
For the first time since sitting down, I turned and faced him,
humming in response to his question.
"I don't know if you have a secret girlfriend but if you do, I'm
happy for you." I gritted out "However, condolences for the
poor girl locked up in your basement."
"She did not come to my house. I went to hers. The girl that
I was with last night did not have a basement." He said, his
tone void of any playfulness "I got to know your house quite
well."
At that moment, I forgot other people were around us. Our
eyes locked and we continued to silently battle. My eyes
narrowed at him and as the minutes passed with my
attention still on him, his tensed shoulders started to relax,
and his eyes became slightly less dark.
My eye contact with him broke when Brennan laughed, and I
let my gaze wander to him.
"How does Stone know your house quite well, Ella?" He
asked, grinning.
"I don't know." I quickly replied, trying to appear nonchalant
"Maybe he dreamt about it."
Stone chuckled. His smirk was evil, and it promised my very
own teasing torture.
"That is maybe what it was, Drizella." He spoke in a low
voice "Although, I have this vivid image of your kitchen
counter."
He had won that round between us.
I retreated in my chair and crossed my arms and silently
cursed his arrogant infuriating self.
Lana leaned in once again and queried "How does he know
your name is Drizella?"
I shrugged.
"It took five years for you to tell me and still to this day, you
threaten to decapitate me if I ever use it." She mentioned.
"I don't know how he knows." I rambled out a lie "He
probably found it out while looking for information for his I-
Hate-Ella shrine."
The bell rang indicating lunch. We all got up out of our seats
when Mr Dankworth called out "Ella, could you stay back for
a few minutes?"
I nodded, knowing he probably wanted a book
recommendation or something.
Lana giggled "I hope you know that you don't have to flirt
with him to get your A to an A Plus."
"Please." I scoffed, matching her playfulness "I will be flirting
with him with no hidden agenda. He is my soulmate after
all. Also, I already have an A Plus in this class."
I walked to the front and noticed a very grumpy Stone
behind me. I sighed and tried to think of a way to break the
tension.
"Do not worry, Lurch." I laughed "I promised not to use all
my nerdy pick-up lines on him. I will save some for you. I
know you like a good book remark. Talk Tolstoy to me."
He leaned in like he was trying to get a closer listen to my
laugh.
Stone then noticed what I had said so he grumbled out "I
don't read books. Let alone Tolstoy."
"Whatever. You are totally a Frodo Dolokhov." I said as I
poked his chest once.
The gravelly voice spoke, "It is Fyodor."
I smiled triumphantly. He had fallen right into my trap. I had
changed the name of the bad guy from War and Peace and
hoped to catch him out when he corrected me.
"A-ha. I got you" I pointed at him "You are so a book nerd."
The giant figure towering my form was too busy looking
down at my smile to care that he let himself be caught out.
He stole a last glance back over his shoulder before he
begrudgingly walked out of the classroom and joined Lana
and Brennan.
As soon as it was just me and Mr Dankworth, I walked over
to the desk and studied the old man with the swirly
patterned trousers and the purple waistcoat.
His friendly smile lit up his wrinkled face when he greeted
me "Ella, have I ever told you how cool you are?"
A laugh escaped me before I joked "Please don't be
offended but when your teacher calls you cool, you are not
actually cool."
"Then have I ever told you how smart you are. You will go
far in life."
I crossed my arms, recognising his sweet talk a mile away
"Okay, Mr Dankworth. What are you after?"
The English teacher sighed, and his grey almost non-
existent eyebrows dropped slightly "I need you to tutor
Chase."
"What?"
"He is failing English." Dankworth explained, "The essay
about setting in a Shakespeare play is due next week and
he needs help."
"I get that but why me?"
"You are extremely gifted when it comes to analysing and
other skills required for English." He said pleadingly "You are
the only one that can get through to him."
A solution came to mind, so I forced out the words
"There is someone else who has the exact same grades as
me. Who is just as good." I rambled out before adding "Just
don't tell him I told you that."
The old man's eyes widened like what I was suggesting was
forbidden and pretty much blasphemy.
"Mr Stone is out of the question." He quickly assured "I think
it is necessary for Mr Andrews to survive the study session."
I did love explaining a book to someone and I also liked
teaching and helping. I did say to Chase that we were
friends and friends help one another.
Mr Dankworth saw my contemplation and begged "Please."
"Okay." I finally agreed with a heavy sigh.
He could not expect me to work a miracle and make Chase
interested in learning, but I would give it my best shot.
The cafeteria was busy when I arrived. Lana and the boys
were sitting at our normal table. I was starving and eager to
get to them but then I saw Chase and the football squad
sitting at one of the middle tables. I would have to organise
a time to tutor him and that meant going over and asking.
As I stood contemplating what table I should go to first, I
froze from moving towards my seat when a tall blonde girl
sat down next to Stone.
I recognised her as the girl at the party, Lacey. She spoke to
the giant while running a hand through her hair.
From the angle I was standing at, I could not see if the giant
was flirting back with her or not.
"Hey Ella." A voice interrupted my staring at the scene in
front of me.
I did not look at the blonde quarterback as I said "Hey."
Chase stood next to me and looked at where I was looking
which was at the girl who had taken my seat.
He put a hand on my shoulder "Do you want to come and sit
with us?"
Dragging my gaze away from my table, I nodded and
followed him to the table full of the jocks.
I sat down on the same bench as Chase when I greeted his
friends. A few said hello and others have a single nod in
response.
My body with a mind of its own leaned forward so I could
see past the quarterback and back to my table.
The pair of obsidian eyes were not focused on the girl
beside him. They were scanning the lunch hall and looking
for something. He looked determined to find and claim
whatever he was searching for.
His eyes met mine. He blinked twice before realising where I
was and who I was sitting with. His dark orbs became
darker, and his jaw ticked as he watched me slowly sit back
and hide behind the back of the jock.
At that point, he appeared to be seconds away from starting
a rampage.
I dropped my head down and avoided his gaze.
The guy that I recognised also from Chase's party that I
remembered as Kyle spoke up "What happened to your
hair?"
For the hundredth time today, I explained "I wanted to
change it but now I've changed my mind. I'm dyeing it back
to green tonight."
Kyle looked confused when he pointed to my head "But you
look much better as a brunette. Less freaky and more cute."
Some of the guys laughed. It was not a surprise that Chase
joined in because what is a pack of laughing hyenas without
their leader. I glared at him, and he mumbled a sorry.
"Well, Kyle." I addressed Chase's friend "It is a good thing
that I could not care less what you think."
I did not care about being cute. Unless it was the kind of
cute that would inspire Edgar Allan Poe to write dark poems
about me like Annabel Lee. Caring too much about what
people thought was what had made me get rid of my hair in
the first place and I was not going to make that mistake
again.
"Anyway," I tilted my body to Chase so I could tell him "I
have agreed to tutor you and help you with your English
essay so is there are a certain time and place that works for
you?"
He nodded, happily "How about my place?"
I did not know if he said it because he was serious or he was
trying to insinuate something. By the immature chuckling of
the table, I was leaning more towards the latter.
Kyle felt the need to add to it "I don't think there is going to
be a lot of studying."
I glared at all of them "Yeah, there will be more than study
going on. If Chase keeps on being an asshole, there will be a
lot of shouting."
"Screaming?" One of the boys hollered and high-fived the
guy next to him, obviously not meaning the aggressive
screaming.
I let out a breath and rubbed at my temples "Chase, can we
please just agree on a place and time. Then I will leave so
you and your buddies can go back to talking about whatever
you were before I arrived."
He did not answer, instead, Kyle did "We were talking about
going to the fight at the beach before you came but you
would know all about that though, wouldn't you?"
I raised my brow in confusion "Chase mentioned it a few
times but I have no idea what fighting goes on at the
beach."
"It is like an illegal fighting league that takes place on the
beach at night. You can make money on betting on a
fighter." Kyle explained, thinking that I cared.
"So, is it boxing or wrestling?" I asked, pretending that I was
interested.
"None and both." Chase answered "It is dirty fighting. No
rules."
"How often does it happen?"
It sounded rough and dangerous and barbaric.
Kyle replied "Nine o'clock. Every night. The fighters must be
making a fortune but no wonder, they are pretty good."
One guy at the table added, "Neptune is the best."
"No way. Vulcan is!" Another guy argued which made all the
guys at the table nod in agreement.
All the guys except Chase because instead, he scoffed "No.
He’s not."
I looked over to my table. The girl who was flirting with
Stone was gone. Lana kept switching her attention from me
to Brennan who was fully focused on talking to Stone. He
looked to be trying to calm the giant down.
The attention from Stone never withered away. He remained
to stare in my direction, and he remained absolutely furious.
I shivered in my chair.
His heated stare was burning holes through me, so I
distracted myself by asking more about the beach fight club
"What is with the Roman god names?"
Kyle half laughed and half coughed "Why don't you ask—"
"Shut up." Chase said, cutting him off "She doesn't want to
know."
I was about to question him when Kyle opened his mouth
again and asked, "So are you getting with him?"
"Who?"
"The guy who looks ready to storm across this room and
snap all of our necks for even looking at you."
I nudged Chase in a playful way "I hate to break it to you,
but a lot of people secretly want do that."
The whole table started laughing and I felt a small feeling of
pride.
Kyle stopped laughing to ask again "Seriously though, are
you getting with him?"
"Not to sound like an owl but again, who?"
Chase did not look happy as his friend retorted "I definitely
think your girl is secretly getting with the tattooed guy."
I started to think that I had I nearly kissed Stone written on
my forehead.
"Okay, first off no. Second of all, I am not Chase's girl. I am
nobody's." I quickly dismissed their comments "Chase's
study buddy, yes. On that note, when and where are we
meeting?"
"Ice cream place at the pier" Chase replied.
I nodded "Tomorrow night?"
"Can't." Chase took a bite of his lunch "Football practice."
"How about Wednesday night?"
He thought for a minute and then smiled "That works for
me."
Picking my bag up off the floor, I said goodbye to him and
the boys before strolling to my table. What waited for me
was the two love birds and the terrifying male.
Stone's face promised bloodshed.
I could feel the tension in the small space of air between
him and me as I sat down. His skin brushed against mine
and I could feel the storm brewing inside of him.
The tongue lashing from him was what I anticipated. I did
not expect for him to be silent.
Maybe Stone was right. Maybe bickering with him did make
me glow. Maybe it did make me happy.
His leg moved so it was touching mine. It had a feeling
brewing inside of me. The only way I could describe it was
like a rollercoaster. It was completely alarming but it was
exhilarating.
The silence broke when he growled, "You have been
avoiding me."
I did not look at him when I claimed, "No. I haven't."
"What were you doing with him?" He demanded to know, his
tone deepening.
Lana and Brennan stopped their conversation to spectate
what was going on at our side of the table.
I ignored their stares and replied to him "Mr Dankworth
asked me to tutor Chase. I just went over there to organise
a time."
That did not calm him down.
"You said yes?" He growled again.
I twisted in my seat, so I was facing his harsh features and
his outraged expression. I matched his anger and tried not
to get distracted by staring at his eyes or his lips.
"I do not need to explain myself to you. If I want tutor him
then I am going to." I claimed and then added before I could
think "If I want to hook up with him then I will."
Not sure what had possessed me to say my previous
sentence, I tried to seem confident but as I watched his
fingers curl into tight fists, I regretted my words.
"Oh no." Brennan quietly let out.
One of Stone's fists forcefully slammed on the table. A noise
that could break the sound barrier filled the large lunch hall.
The cans of juice over spilling and the wood creaking
underneath his hand.
I was surprised that the table did not split in half.
Lana's eyes were wide open, and her mouth hung open at
his outburst.
The deep and demanding voice had never made me shiver
before because deep down I always knew it was just part of
our weird dynamic. This felt oddly different. Now his voice
sounded deadly serious.
"Try it, Medusa. I dare you." He barked/
"Why do you even care anyway?" I spat out.
He looked down at me and continued to study my face.
Lana stood up which made us all look at her.
She gave me a pointed look before announcing "I'm going to
the bathroom. Ella is coming too."
"I am?" I asked, moving away from the tight grasp that
Stone's eyes had me under.
She walked around the table and grabbed my hand to pull
me out of the lunch hall. Lana finally let go of my hand when
we reached the girl's bathroom.
Her head bobbed as she searched the cubicles to make sure
nobody was in. Once she was sure it was just us, she stood
in front of me and questioned "Okay, Ella. What is going
on?"
"What are you talking about?" I said, straightening out my
black skirt.
"You and Stone." She elaborated in a duh tone "What is
going with you two?"
Except he stayed over last night and we nearly kissed this
morning, not much.
I felt bad for not telling her but I could not find the words. I
could not even comprehend myself what had gone on
between him and I.
Lana spoke again "You two dance around each other like
wolves. I don't know if you two want to rip each other apart
or rip each other’s clothes off."
"What kind of wolves have you seen that wear clothes?"
"Ella!" She said, exasperated.
I avoided the topic again "How are you and Brennan getting
on?"
"Come on! You two are totally into each other!"
"Me?" I pointed to myself "Into Stone?"
"Yes. You!"
"I am not." I crossed my arms over my chest "Stone is also
not interested in me."
She looked fed up "You need to let someone in eventually. I
think you already have. You told him your real name. That
has to mean something."
I did not think mentioning how my car broke down and I
ended up at his place of work then he drove me home and
then I slept on him would help my argument,
"You are just a romantic." I informed her before joking
"Imagine if we did like each other. Our friend group would
turn out to be like ABBA. Look how that turned out."
"So, you are telling me you have no feelings for Stone?"
A few seconds passed and I tightened the hold on myself
“We have this weird chemistry…”
“No shit” Lana scoffed.
“It won’t last. It is temporary.” I argued as I felt my
shoulders deflate “My experience with chemistry is that it
fizzles out.”
Lana did not look like she believed me, but she did not ask
any further.
We walked back through to the cafeteria and sat down in
our seats. Brennan kissed Lana on the cheek before going
back to sitting in silence while they ate their lunch.
I stole a quick look at the giant next to me.
Now thinking about it all, maybe I had let him past the walls
I had built up around myself slightly.
"You are not tutoring him." He commanded.
"Are you stilling going on about that?" I narrowed my eyes
at him "I’m tutoring him. End of story."
"Over my dead body."
Rising myself on my seat so I could try and match his eye
level, I threatened "I can arrange that."
His lip twitched when he noticed how I had grown in size as I
leaned on my knees.
"How are you going to do that, Medusa?"
Winding up the giant had become the best part of my day.
"I-I could squash you."
He looked me up and down. His gaze trailing over the length
of me. The small length of me.
"Squash me?" He repeated, a smirk forming on his face.
I nodded and ignored how ridiculous it sounded "I am really
heavy. I could sit on you."
That is when he said something that took me by surprise.
"Do it."
Lana and Brennan wore matching expressions. They looked
in amusement like they could not wait to see what was
about to happen.
Stone sat back in his chair and his irritating smug face
looked at me in anticipation.
All I wanted to do was watch the smirk fall from his face.
With that in mind, it spurred me on to stand up and glare
down at him.
I could not back down now. I had to go through with it.
I climbed on to his lap.
My plan was to hurt him, but the impact did no damage.
As soon as I was on him, he wrapped his arms around my
waist and pulled me towards him, so my back rested against
his chest.
My plan had backfired. It was supposed to hurt him. I had
expected him to let out a noise of disapproval or at least
push me off him.
I wiggled around "Let me go, Lurch."
"No." He grumbled, his grip tightening.
After a few minutes of trying to remove his big muscular
arm from around my stomach, I gave up moving and
mumbled "Am I not heavy?"
"No."
"Whatever." I mumbled before leaning forward and taking a
few fries from his plate "I am stealing your food."
Brennan raised his brow from the other side of the table
"You enjoying yourself there?"
"No." I replied, munching on Stone's lunch "I am hating
every second of this."
"Then why are you still on his lap?" Lana asked, biting the
inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing.
"He won't let me." I motioned down at his strong vice-like
arms before I started eating the burger from Stone's plate
"Plus, I’m torturing him."
"Yeah, because he looks like he is getting tortured." Brennan
commented while nodding towards the guy behind me.
Stone had a small smile on his face as he watched me
devour his hamburger.
One of Chase's friends was watching the scene with a
judgemental expression on his face. I flipped him off and
carried on with what I was doing.
I stretched over to grab more of his fries and then I
slammed back onto his lap. Only this time I rested more
further back so that my tailbone rested higher than his
thigh.
A deep noise erupted from the bottom of his chest, but he
did not let me go.
"Now he might be in torture." Brennan chuckled.
Slowly, I could not help but turn around and look down. My
attention fell to the large bulge before I peered back up and
met the pair of dilated pupils.
"That better be a spanner, mechanic- boy." I teased before
turning around and eating the rest of his burger.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Seventeen
"Are you on the menu?"
"No. I'm not." I replied to Chase with a sigh "I thought I was
here to teach you Shakespeare. Not how to read."
The last thing I wanted to be doing on a Wednesday evening
was attempting to teach Chase a Shakespeare play. I would
have rather been at home alone and that was saying
something.
I wanted to be home at home admiring my hair. I had dyed
it back to green and now it was even more luminous than
before. The green was probably bright enough to be seen
from space.
The ice cream parlour was quiet with only a few tables
occupied. I counted the number of people in the room to
keep myself entertained.
I eventually turned back to my supposed student who was
too busy laughing at something on his phone.
I waved my hands in front of his face as I called to him
"Chase, can you please focus?"
He put his phone down and put his hands up in fake
surrender as he argued "I'm looking at the poem on my
phone."
I leaned back and blew a stay hair out of my face while I
informed him "It is a play, and you were laughing at your
phone."
"So?"
"So, you are writing about Romeo and Juliet. An example of
a tragedy." I pointed out, trying to keep my cool "What is
there to laugh about?"
Chase's phone went off again and I shot him a dirty look
until he put it on silent.
"I'm sorry. I'm listening now." He mumbled before leaning
back in his chair.
"Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona which is in Italy." I told
him before asking "Why do you think that is?"
His response was a shrug and a few lazy set of words
"Maybe he liked pasta."
"You are going to get such great marks on your essay if you
write that." I sarcastically remarked.
"I might." He argued "We were not around back then. We
have no idea why he really chose that place to set it in."
In a weird way, he had a point. It was unlikely however that
William Shakespeare was walking around eating a spaghetti
carbonara thinking up the Capulets.
"If you can write a whole essay about the playwright's
eating habits then you do that." I laughed "But I will teach
you the real reason."
After I finished explaining why the setting was important to
the play, I sat and waited for him to write some notes.
Looking around again as Chase copied down what I had just
said, I noticed that there were a group of guys outside of the
ice cream parlor.
five well-built men were visible through the large window.
Three of which had their back to me. One of the guys facing
my way had brown hair and a noticeable scar on his eye like
the villain from The Lion King.
Standing next to one of the unknown males was another
guy who looked familiar. I leaned closer to get a better look,
but the setting sun blinded me in the process.
I blinked a few times before I realised who was standing
outside.
My action of moving closer only and staring at the group
made Brennan notice me.
Brennan's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw
me sitting there. He then switched his gaze to the guy
across the table from me and his eyes widened further.
I had never considered myself a perceptive person. It was
probably because I always had my head in my clouds or
because I was dreaming up something.
One of the men outside who had their back to me was much
larger than the rest. He was a thick body of muscle, and he
was wearing an infamous leather jacket.
The boy with the scar who I had never seen in my life before
pointed right at me.
Stone's well-built body moved to turn around.
Instinctively, I slid down in my seat and covered my face
with my hand.
Maybe the re-dyeing of the green was not such a good idea.
Chase looked up from his notebook and raised an eyebrow
at my hiding skills.
"What are you doing?" The quarterback questioned.
I said the first thing that popped into my head "I am re-
enacting what Romeo would have looked like hiding under
Juliet's balcony."
"What?"
"This is visual learning." I blurted out as I sank further into
my seat.
The blonde footballer did not look convinced by my excuse.
He instead looked over his shoulder at what I was looking at.
Stone was storming towards us. He was taking long violent
and determined steps towards our table and his expression
was furious. His dark eyes were zoned in on the two of us as
his jaw ticked viciously. He looked like a caged beast that
had been set free.
The light of the ice cream shop darkened. A shadow was
cast across the table as the large figure towered over us.
His presence created a cold atmosphere in the place. Which
was a complete contrast to what I was feeling.
I felt overheated and my skin felt on fire.
The giant remained silent as he stared down at me.
I offered him a little wave as I greeted "Hi."
"What are you doing?" The deep guttural voice that was
nothing short of wrathful grounded out.
I pointed to the glass on my side of the table and squeaked
out "Having a milkshake."
"What is he doing here?" Stone ordered to know, his
question a rough-sounding demand.
My finger moved an inch before I replied again "Having a
milkshake."
Not amused by my excuse, Stone's jaw ticked in an angry
rhythm as he looked between me and the quarterback
opposite me.
My attention went to the bulging veins in the giant's tightly
clenched fists.
Chase spoke up with an amused laugh “What are you doing
here, man?"
Stone did not answer him. He gave him a once-over with a
look of pure hatred. The way he only spent a split second
acknowledging the quarterback's existence was like he was
looking at a bit of dirt on his shoe.
"Can you leave?" Chase appeared amused when he
delivered his question towards the man looming over us "We
are trying to have a date here."
I was about to correct him. I was about to defend myself and
assure both of them that I was not a big enough nerd to
have a Shakespeare oriented date.
Just as I was about to speak, Stone struck furiously by
grabbing Chase by the collar of his shirt. The thick strong
arm lifted the blonde guy up and off the ground until he was
dangling off the ground.
"I suggest you do not open your mouth again before I end
up fucking killing you." Stone barked in warning, the
tendons in his neck close to snapping.
"I get it, tough guy." Chase taunted, still held in the air from
the iron grip "You are intimidated by me."
The deep humourless laugh sent a shiver down my spine.
Stone chuckled darkly like what Chase had said was the
most amusing thing in the world.
I could see why he was laughing. Chase was ripped and tall,
but he was nothing compared to the giant hovering over
both of us.
"You are intimidated because you think that Ella might like
me more than you." Chase insinuated with a smirk "She
does by the way."
"I think Ella can speak for herself." I huffed but they were
both not listening.
Stone's jaw could cut someone. He was grinding his molars
as his hand folded into a dangerously tight fist. His knuckles
turned white and tremored violently.
I stood up and ignored the stares around the room while I
placed my hand on his fist.
My hand dwarfed in comparison to Stone's as he uncurled
his fist and latched onto my hand.
His black eyes were dark, and his pupils dilated as he turned
to look at me.
I whispered in an attempt to diffuse him "Calm down,
Lurch."
He kept his heated black gaze on me as he let go of Chase's
shirt and allowed his body to plummet back onto his seat.
"You have got it bad, haven't you?" Chase threw his head
back and laughed "It is a shame she is here with me."
I let go of Stone's hand which made him scowl further.
I was sick of the conversation and them treating me like I
was not there.
Turning my body back towards Chase, I threatened "She is
not going to be here much longer with you if you don't stop
speaking about her like she is not here."
"Damn right." Stone growled, his voice turning feral "You are
coming with me."
"That does not mean I’m going with you either." I bit out as I
tilted my chin upwards so that I could meet the dark pair of
eyes "I actually need to tutor Chase. I have no reason to go
with you."
Stone's obsidian irises flicked over my face while his
eyebrows furrowed, and his jaw ticked.
"No reason?" He grumbled while dragging his glare to the
floor.
I went to sit back down on my seat, but Stone quickly
stopped me.
An electric shock shot up my arm as the large warm
calloused fingers belonging to the giant wrapped around my
arm. The clutch on my arm was firm but gentle as it pulled
me towards the largest chest.
I collided with him. More specifically his chest.
My forehead planted against his torso which might as well
have been a concrete wall for how hard and unforgiving it
was.
A small noise left me as I landed against him.
The hand quickly dropped from my arm while the deep
voice rumbled out quickly "Sorry."
I knew that he did not mean to pull me that hard and I knew
that he did not realise his own strength, so I sent him a
small reassuring smile.
"Your car is fixed." His chest shook slightly as the deep voice
spoke the words "I finished it this morning. We need to go
pick it up."
I promised Mr Dankworth that I would tutor Chase. I had
tried for a good two hours to teach the footballer something.
Stone's deep voice lowered and grew hoarser as he lowly
asked me "Do you want to stay with him?"
My mind was already made up.
I wanted to go with Stone. Even if he was being a giant pain
in the ass.
"I'm sorry." I turned to Chase and uttered an apology "Can
we maybe do this another time?"
What I was expecting was his reply to be glad that the study
session was over but instead he shrugged and laughed
"That is okay. We can continue another day. Maybe at my
house tomorrow night."
Stone was not oblivious to the underlying meaning of
Chase's words. He stepped forward and slammed his palm
onto the table before he leant down to the jock and lowly
threatened him.
I did not hear what Stone said but it made Chase go pale.
With my mouth agape, I reached up and tried to pull him
back. Without saying another word to my second-long-
study-buddy, I pushed Stone away from the table and
towards the door.
He willingly moved under my touch. There was no way I
would be able to move the massive multiple-hundred-pound
pile of muscle if he did not want to go.
When the sea breeze hit my face, I walked a few metres
ahead of him before motioning back inside and asking,
"What was that back there?"
"He is so fucking lucky." He gritted out, the veins in his neck
pulsing viciously "For what he was trying to hint about you, I
wanted to end his pathetic life."
"He was trying to get a rise out of you." I sighed frustratedly
"And it worked."
His big hard chest moved up and down erratically. His dark
eyes were flicking between me and the ice cream place like
he was contemplating going back and finishing taking out
his rage on the blonde quarterback.
"I was teaching him centuries old literature." I felt the need
to clarify "We were not having a candle lit dinner."
Stone strode over and closed the gap between us so that he
could hover over men. He moved so close that I had to
crane my neck upwards so that I could peer up at him.
"We are just friends." I told him with an aggravated sigh "He
is not trying to get with me."
The words left the bottom of his chest in a deep carnivorous
grumble "Yes. He is."
I leaned on my toes so that I was a little closer to him. The
action was not a choice. It was a need and an urge.
"He has been there, and he has done that." I sighed "And
knowing him, he has probably got the t-shirt."
He stopped moving. His shoulders stilled and his darkened
eyes rested on my face.
"What does that mean?" He forced the words out; his voice
was lower and quieter than I had ever heard it.
"It means we dated, and it didn't work out." I answered
before murmuring "And calling it dating is an
overstatement."
Stone cocked his head before letting out a rough, ragged
grumble of a noise.
His eyes closed for a few seconds before his darkened eyes
set on me and he spoke through a clenched jaw "I am going
to go insane."
"Not my problem." I rebutted, keeping my posture strong as
I met his gaze “I'm not asking for your permission the next
time I need to meet him for a study-session."
He studied my face before letting out lowly "You are so
frustrating, Medusa."
"You are not exactly a walk in the park either!" I raised my
voice and blurted out before I turned on my heel and walked
away from him.
He followed me instantaneously.
We walked in silence. I could feel the tension in him as he
lingered closely behind me.
I glanced at his black truck parked on the street before I
walked right past it.
"Get in the car, Medusa." He barked from behind me.
I stopped walking but I did not turn around
"What?" I sassed over my shoulder "So I can frustrate you in
the car too?"
"Ella." His deep voice grew strained and demanding when
he uttered my name.
My eyes narrowed as I turned around on my heel and faced
him.
"No thank you, Wreck-it-Ralph." I called to him, placing my
hands on my hips.
"Ella."
I watched him as his jaw ticked impatiently. We stood
staring at each other for a few minutes. None of us
surrendered.
"You either get in the car or I put you in the car." He gave
his ultimatum and made it clear that it was either by hook
or by crook that I was staying with him.
His tone was as serious as a heart attack, so I knew he was
not joking.
"Fine." I huffed, finally surrendering "Just because I can't be
bothered walking."
I got into the black truck and put on my seatbelt while
waiting for him to make his way around to his side. He
opened the door, got in and slammed the door with brute
force.
Sighing as I turn on the leather seat, I interrogated "What
has got you so mad?"
"He thought it was so fucking funny." He growled; his voice
so quiet that I almost missed his statement.
"Who?" I asked to break the intensity of his stare even
though I knew who he was talking about.
He started the engine while he shook his head. The large
wide shoulders tensed until they were rigid.
"Chad." He bit out like he was tasting something disgusting
on his tongue.
"What did he think...?" I trailed off.
Stone turned to meet my eye. His obsidian irises blazed with
a scalding heat.
My heart lurched.
I could hear the beating of my heart as he leaned closer
towards me, his dark eyes never leaving mine. My skin
tingled in anticipation as he neared so close that I could feel
him circulating my whole being.
"What did he find funny?" I tried again.
"You and me." He breathed out against my neck, the words
ticking my body.
I opened my mouth but then closed it.
Seconds stretched on but not for nearly long enough. When
he sat back in his seat and shifted the gear stick, I felt cold.
Stone had his truck instead of his bike, so it made it easier
to send him glares as he drove along the promenade.
I was too busy staring at the side of his face to notice where
we were when he pulled up outside my apartment building.
"I'm not a mechanic at your work or anything but I am
pretty sure my house is not the place you were fixing my
car." I mentioned quietly to him.
He turned off the engine and faced me, but he did not
bother speaking. He just watched me in silence.
"Why are we here?" I questioned our whereabouts "I thought
we were going to get Kermit."
"Your car is not fixed." He uttered unapologetically "I just
wanted you away from him."
I exaggerated making a strangling motion with my hands as
I glared at him.
"You are such a..." I tried to think of a word, but nothing
came to mind so I ended up saying "A... Lurch."
"If I have to become some kind of monster to keep you with
me then so be it." He let out deeply and determinedly.
My mouth opened and then closed once again.
I had no idea what to say to him, so I opened the door to the
truck and climbed out.
"I'm not grateful for the reason why but thanks for driving
me home." I held onto the door as I called back into the car.
His expression was foreign to me. The one he wore was hard
to decipher. It almost looked like he was ashamed.
"Ella—" He began to deliver gently.
"Try and calm down before you drive again." I cut him off
"On the way here, I thought I was in Wacky Races."
I shut the door to his truck and walked away. I rushed up the
stairs and I did not bother to look back.
Going through the hall on the first floor of my apartment
building, I did not hear him drive away.
When I walked into the corridor of my floor and put the key
in my door and found it already open, I found myself feeling
nauseous.
I pushed open the door and faced the messy apartment. The
living room that was usually the cleanest part of the house
was covered in empty beer bottles.
I was naive. I found myself hoping every day that my father
would come back sober, and we would be able to live our
life to some normality.
Derek Miller was hunched over the coffee table looking at a
photo album.
I stepped closer cautiously and the aroma of cheap booze
hit me. My sudden nearness made his head snap up and he
looked to be trying to work out who I was for a minute.
He pointed to the photo opened in the book with the top of
the beer bottle in his hand.
The picture was of the three of us at the beach. My father
was standing with his arm around us. My mother was
holding six-year-old me with our cheeks squished together
while we both grinned.
I had forgotten how similar looking I was to my mother. I
wondered if that was the reason my father could not
stomach the sight of me.
My father kept his sad gaze on the picture as he whispered,
"You are the reason she is dead."
It was not the first time he had said those words and it
would not be the last.
The breath I released from my chest was painful "What do
you mean?"
I almost did not recognise my voice. It came out far more
vulnerable and childish than I intended.
He never stuck around to explain what he meant by those
words.
Slamming the picture book shut, he stood up and pointed at
me with so much venom in his eyes that it scared me.
"She was happy and then suddenly she wasn't." He spat out
"You don't think that has something to do with you?"
I shook my head, refusing to listen to his words.
"Maybe it was something to do with me." I whispered, "But I
don't think it is solely all my fault."
In a blink of an eye, he was in front of me and in my face
"What are you trying to hint at, you little bitch?" He bit out,
the beer strong on his breath.
"That maybe it was not my fault." I matched the bitterness
in his tone as I replied "She never left a note. We will never
know why."
He staggered back until he was a few meters away from me.
It all happened so fast. Maybe my tears had something to
do with my delayed reaction.
I ducked just in time before the bottle smashed against the
wall behind me.
If I had moved a second later then I would been hit by the
beer bottle.
His eyes widened as soon as it happened.
My body was shaking violently. My sobs were shaky too.
I closed my eyes and let out quietly "Get out."
"What?" He replied, his voice just as quiet.
I could not breathe. My chest and my throat were shaking
too much and the air in the room did not feel safe enough to
inhale.
"Get out of here!" I screamed with the last remaining energy
I had in me "I have never wanted you to leave before. I have
always wanted you to stay but now I don't want to see your
face again. Get out."
My father opened his mouth like he wanted to say
something, but he chose not to say it.
"I'm so sick of being alone. I'm so sick of waiting for you to
come home. I'm so sick of waiting for you to step and
become my dad." I sobbed out, my throat aching as the
words left me "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I have no desire to
call you my father and I'm sorry I don't want anything to do
with you. I'm sorry for what I am about say next."
He watched and waited for what I was about to say next.
"Get out of here and don't come back." I said quietly "I don't
want to see you ever again."
An exhale of his breath hit me, and the smell of whisky
made me even madder.
I pointed to the door "You have never had a problem with
leaving before so go."
My father did not say another word as he grabbed his jacket
and walked away. He shut the front door behind him softly.
Perhaps I was reading too much into it, but the small slick of
the door almost felt like an apology.
I closed my eyes and stood still until I no longer heard the
footsteps in the hallway.
The apartment looked like a bomb site, and I knew I would
have to tidy it up, but I did not have the energy.
I had no energy to do anything. I crouched to my knees and
covered my mouth to contain the sobs.
Another knock on the door was the last straw for me.
I stood up from the floor and I marched over to the door.
I screamed shakily as I yanked it open "If you are here to tell
me that I killed my mother again or call me any other
names then you can go and fu—"
I stop myself from saying any more when I saw who was
standing at the door.
The unexpected giant visitor took up the whole space of the
doorframe.
Stone's eyes were blazing with concern. He barged past the
door with no invitation and kept his eyes down on my face
as he neared. He came right up to me until every part of
him was almost pressed against me.
His large warm calloused hands cupped my face as he
studied my expression. He looked down softly at my
trembling lip and I could see the heat of his concern.
He looked past me, not letting go of my face. He scanned
the room furiously and looked for the source of my tears.
"Baby, what the hell happened to you?" He rasped out.
I discovered at that moment that I did not find it difficult to
be strong. I found it hard to allow someone to see me
vulnerable.
"Ella." He said softly, as soft as I had ever heard his rough
voice.
"I am fine." I argued as I tried to swat him away.
His warm hands remained cupping my face and his thumbs
continued gently wiping my tears away.
I did not know I was crying until I pulled away and wiped my
face with my hands. My palms were wet and so was my shirt
with the shed tears.
Stone reached out for me again. I did not fight him. I was
too exhausted, and I felt myself falling.
He caught me. His large arms wrapped around me and
pressed my small self firmly into his chest.
For the first time in a long while, I felt warm and protected.
Another sob came from me and that only made him hold on
tighter.
Even though I could not get my arms fully around his huge
frame and even though he was holding onto me a little too
tightly, it was my favourite hug ever.
I took a deep breath of his scent between my sobs. His
presence was enough. The smell of leather and engine
grease made me feel like nothing could touch me. Like
nothing could hurt me.
His head hung down and his mouth nuzzled my hair as he
demanded to know "Who did this to you?" 
"I am okay." I released shakily "I am fine."
Stone's grip tightened and his words came out strained like
he was the one hurt "Medusa, you are killing me here."
I clung to him tightly "Can you...can you just hold me?"
A few beats of his heart later and he huskily let out
"Always."
Stone let go of me, but it was only for a second. He bent
down and wrapped one of his arms around the back of my
knees before he picked me up.
I wrapped my legs around his torso, and I wrapped my arms
around the back of his neck while I rested my forehead on
his shoulder.
One of the arms snaked around my waist. His other arm
made its way up my back so that he could dip his fingers
into my hair.
"I just need a few more seconds." I mumbled into his
shoulder.
His hand cupped the back of my neck to hold my head in
place. His rough calloused fingers caressed my hair and the
back of my neck so that he could keep me cradled against
him.
I sucked in a breath through my nose and pressed my face
even closer into him. I held on tighter to him and I could feel
how strong and immovable his hard muscled body was.
I had leaned more of my weight on him than I had ever let
someone else hold. I let him support me more than anyone
else ever had and he managed to hold me without an issue.
We stood like that for a while.
I closed my eyes and the same moment played over and
over in my head. The image of the bottle hurtling towards
me replayed over and over again.
My breathing started to become rapid. I felt like clutching
my throat to get a better chance of receiving air. My heart
pounded in my ear, and I felt the room close around me.
He rushed over to the sofa before setting me down. His two
hands rested on my legs before he knelt down to see me
better.
"Take deep breaths, Ella." His deep voice ordered frantically
while he moved the hair out my face "You are okay. I have
got you."
I had only experienced this feeling twice. It was still a
daunting experience. It felt a lot like dying and the thoughts
of not being able to breathe only made me panic more.
His hand moved from my cheek to the back of my neck. He
massaged the skin there gently as he watched me with such
caution. He appeared so distressed at my state.
I felt I had to reassure him that I would be okay, but I could
not. I could not speak.
"Ella." He released the words from his chest as gently as he
could "I need you to do something for me."
I nodded, trying to breathe in and out.
He spoke again in his gravelly voice "I need you to list books
by Jane Austen in alphabetical order."
Confusion took over me. It almost drowned out the panic.
Then I realised what he was doing. He was trying to get my
mind off everything by setting me a task to do.
My breaths were still shallow, but I thought about it. It only
took ten seconds because I did know the alphabetical order.
I quietly listed the books from Emma to Sense and
Sensibility.
If he was not so concerned about me, I could imagine him
being impressed at how fast I rattled off the titles.
He changed his tactic and spoke while his large hand gently
caressed my knee "List everything you hate about me."
I managed to let out a small shaky laugh "The limit of the
list does not exist."
Stone smiled. It was small and strained but it was a hint of a
smile.
"Name them." He gently replied.
My eyes met his. His that reminded me of dark chocolate.
His gaze was the same. Sweet yet bitter. He looked at me
softly, but I could see the specs of anger in them as well.
Anger to destroy the thing that had brought me pain.
I admitted in the form of a whisper "I can't."
He tilted his head as my breathing subsided.
Once he had noticed that I had relaxed, he scooped my
body up into his arms and held me to his chest bridal style
as he carried me to my room.
Stone gently placed me back on my feet when we reached
the threshold between the hallway and my room.
"Go and get changed into your pyjamas." He instructed after
setting me down "I will wait outside."
I nodded before stepping inside and shutting my bedroom
door behind me.
I opened my drawer and looked through my clothes. The
only pyjamas that were not in the washing pile were my
Princess and The Frog ones.
Letting out a sigh, I undressed and changed into the green
shorts and tank top pyjama set before I opened my door
again.
Stone was leaning against the hall wall waiting for me. He
had one of his hands knocking an impatient beat on the part
of the wall that met the ceiling.
As soon as he saw me, his eyes went to my face before
falling to look at what I was wearing. A hint of amusement
made its way onto his expression.
He never commented on my Disney Pyjamas. He instead
ushered me back into my room and towards the bed.
My bed had never looked so good. I could feel my eyes
closing. I just wanted the day to be over.
Sometimes I would stay up at night and make up theories
about the world just to distract myself from the hollowness
of the apartment but now I had something to think about.
I was thinking about the enigma that came in the form of
the mountain of a man.
This was the second time he had put me to bed. It had also
been more than two times that he had made me feel better
without even knowing it.
Stone's exterior was large and terrifying, but I knew he was
more than that.
I had considered being nicer to him and insulting him less,
but I did not want our dynamic to end. Our back-and-forth
battles ignited something in me, and I wondered if I had
ever done something more passionately than tease him.
"What are you thinking about?" He questioned gently,
looking down at me as I climb into bed.
"Can you stay with me?" My voice was a small hopeful noise
as I spoke.
"I am not going anywhere, Medusa." He assured sternly
before taking a step away from the bed "I'll take the sofa."
My hand had a mind of its own and reached out to grab him.
I rose on my knees on the mattress as I placed my hand on
his arm.
"Can you stay in here with me?"
Mentally facepalming, I wanted the bed to swallow me
whole after the words left my mouth. I was mortified as I fell
back on the bed be let go of his arm.
He took a few steps away from the bed while remaining
silent.
I never knew how much I needed him there until he walked
away. I slumped onto the bed and buried my head in the
pillows and let out a groan.
Then I felt the bed move drastically under me at someone
else's weight.
The wide shoulders took up all the room on the mattress as
Stone laid down next to me.
I rolled over and removed my head from the pillow. I noticed
that Stone had switched the light off and that is why he
walked away momentarily.
All I could feel was his closeness.
His warmth and presence were comforting but it was not
enough for me to forget the words uttered by my father
earlier.
I turned on my side so that I could hide my tears from him.
Stone reached over and placed his hand gently on my neck.
He took my chin between his thumb and his index finger
and gently move my head so that he could see me.
"Stop crying, Medusa baby." He growled softly "I can't stand
it. Your tears drive me insane."
I rolled my eyes while wiping them.
"Baby better a term of endearment and not because I'm
crying." I joked to him "If it is then I will castrate you."
He chuckled and I joined in laughing while trying to keep my
sniffling to a minimum.
A question popped into my mind, and I suddenly
remembered to ask "Why did you come here?"
"I came to apologise."
I frowned while questioning "For what?"
"For losing it back at the pier. I should not have acted like
that." His gruff voice delivered strongly yet lowly "I was not
mad at you."
I nodded and managed to send him a shaky smile "Apology
accepted."
The bed covers moved under his grip as he moved them, so
they were covering me fully.
Turning back on my side to hide my smile into my pillow, I
quietly voiced "Goodnight, Lurch."
"Night, Medusa." He said back, making it known that he was
near to my ear.
I let my eyes shut but my body was very much awake. I felt
a lone finger wipe a tear from my cheek. I also could have
sworn that I felt a gentle kiss being bestowed on my
shoulder.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Eighteen
Nature and animal documentaries were never really my
thing but the one time I did decide to watch one, it was
about Koala Bears. The little creatures slept with their legs
and arms wrapped around a large tree.
That was also exactly how I woke up. Except the tree was
not a tree and instead was a giant.
It took me at least forty-five seconds to wake up and be fully
aware of my surroundings.
When I realised, I was on top of Stone, I hoped that I had
just moved on to him and that I had not been there all night.
Carefully, I tried to pull away and lift my leg away from him.
It felt all very like a sequence from Mission Impossible.
A chuckle interrupted my movement and proved my ninja
skills were not that good.
I slowly looked up at the guy under me and he did not
appear as if he had just woken up. He looked wide awake as
his lip twitched upwards at the sight of my widened eyes.
I jumped away to the other end of the bed and pointed at
his amused face before accusing "You are not sleeping."
He chuckled as he watched me rub at my eyes.
"Do you ever actually sleep?" I asked, remembering that it
was the second time I had woken up on top of him "Why did
you not push me off?"
Stone shrugged before his raspy deep voice affirmed "I am
not going to say no to a small hot water bottle. You kept me
warm all night."
I did not miss the way he dragged out all night in a taunting
tone. I had spent the whole night on his hard yet
comfortable chest.
"There is no way I would have done that willingly." I let out a
groan in reply before I quickly recovered by accusing him "I
think that you placed me on your chest."
He said nothing and instead changed the subject by
motioning towards my white shorts with the frogs on them
"Nice pyjamas."
"Do not mock them." I said to his amused face "Princess and
The Frog is a cinematic masterpiece."
If somebody had told me even a week ago that Stone would
be in my bed and that I would be talking about how good a
movie about talking frogs was then I would have called
them a dirty liar.
"I can't believe you slept in your clothes." I laughed as I
looked down at his creased top and the outline of his abs.
His eyebrow raised and the side of his lip turned upwards
when he questioned "Next time, should I sleep just in my
boxers?"
My whole body went warm at the thought.
After I gained composure, I replied "There isn’t going to be a
next time."
Our laughter died out and the atmosphere changed. The
playfulness disappeared as there was nothing else to joke
about.
Unanswered questions about last night flew around the
room and the tension from the other person on the bed was
noticeable.
I picked at a thread on my shorts as I avoided the dark gaze
and uttered quietly "I'm sorry."
Stone's expression contorted to a much more serious one
when he gruffed his words out "You have nothing to
apologise for."
"I do." I argued, "I shouldn't have broken down like that and
you shouldn't have been forced to deal with it."
He scowled. He looked to be a second away from giving me
a stern telling off.
"I am only going to say this once." I joked to make the
conversation less serious "You are not ugly. Some might
argue that you are above average and that your face is
pretty symmetrical. There are girls at school lining up to
speak with you."
His head cocked to the side and his darkened expression
almost appeared disgusted.
"You are not hard up on female companionship so why’d you
choose to stay with a crying mess of a one?" I continued my
joke.
Silence filled the small space of my bedroom.
"That is a stupid fucking question." He grumbled lowly.
I was grateful for what he did. I owed him for calming me
down and looking after me when I needed it the most
"Okay." I sighed "I will shut up now."
"Medusa." His deep voice turned scornful as he rasped out "I
would talk with you all day and all night."
I shot him a small grateful smile as he moved closer until
our shoulders touched.
"What happened yesterday?" He tried to ask gently but his
voice came out rough and demanding.
"It was nothing." I waved him off.
"It was not fucking nothing. Something that makes you
upset is not fucking nothing to me." He growled out his
words like they hurt him to say, "I was worried about you."
I offered him a small smile as I questioned "Really?"
"Ella." He breathed out, sternly yet softly.
"My dad doesn’t live here with me." I admitted while
avoiding his gaze.
Stone went silent for a second.
His fixed dark gaze never left my face when he spoke again
"I thought as much."
I turned my head to the side and upwards so that I could
meet his eye as I asked, "How could you have possibly
known that?"
"You are a terrible liar." He mentioned with a rough sounding
sigh.
"Maybe you are just psychic or something." I spoke
absentmindedly "I've convinced Lana that he is still around
for about a year now."
I realised what I had said as soon as I said it, but it was too
late to take it back.
"You have done what?" The giant on my bed grumbled.
"I don't want to worry her." I rambled out my explanation "I
feel really bad about lying to her, but I just don't want to see
the look of pity on her face."
Stone did not speak for a while. He just sat there and
studied me. His jaw ticked and the veins in his neck bulged
while he watched me deep in thought.
"What is going on, Medusa?"
If there was one thing that I knew for definite in this world,
then it was that I was a stubborn person, and he was also a
stubborn person.
My gut feeling told me that Stone would not push me for an
explanation if I was not ready to talk about it.
The scary thing was that I wholeheartedly wanted to open
up to him.
I cleared my throat and spoke "When my mom died last
year, it was really hard for me, but it was much harder for
my dad. I know that grief is different for everyone, but he
was a whole other level of messed up. Alcohol was his only
comfort. He even showed up to her funeral wasted..."
He watched intently as I paused my story to take a breath.
He then offered me a small twitch of his lip.
I understood the tiny movement of his mouth as a smile of
reassurance to continue my story.
"My father is never here because he can't look at me
without feeling disgusted." I told him the cold hard truth
with a sigh "He spends all of his time bar crawling and
drinking twenty-four seven to avoid looking me in the eye.
He can't stomach the sight of me."
Stone moved a little. I felt him move closer like he wanted
to reach out. He stilled near my body as he decided on
something. His hands twitched like he was struggling to hold
back from enveloping me with his huge bulky arms.
He eventually settled for placing a large hand on my leg. His
long thick fingers sprawled out against my thigh.
His next words were slow like he wanted me to hear every
syllable and understand him "That is not true."
"It’s not?" I asked as I moved my hand, so it was touching
his that rested on my knee "Last night before you came, he
said that I was the reason my mom took her own life."
The hand that made mine look minuscule moved and rested
on top of my hand. He gripped my fingers and squeezed. His
touch was comforting but it was also like he was telling me
off for thinking such a thing.
I tried to look away from him and ignore the feeling
blossoming in the pit of my stomach.
He noticed that I was trying to hide my face from him
because he reached out with his free hand and clutched
onto the higher part of my neck. His fingers gently but
demandingly moved my face so that I was facing him again.
Every word he said was emphasised vigorously through his
tyrannical tone "You did not kill your mother."
"You don't know that. I don't know that." I argued while
shaking my head "One of the worse things about her death
was not knowing. She never left a note and she never said
goodbye."
"Your father is just looking for someone to blame." Stone
grumbled, his eyes still on me as his grip warmed my hands
and the whole of my body "That does not make it true."
The pair of obsidian eyes darkened like a thought that made
him murderous had surfaced to the front of his mind.
"Did he hurt you?" He demanded to know, his body
stiffening like he was on high alert.
"No."
"There was a smashed bottle." Stone mentioned, his jaw
ticking faster and his hand tightening around mine "Did he
hurt you?"
His whole demeanour screamed vengeful. He looked ready
to start a murdering spree if I muttered the three-letter
word.
I chose not to mention how my father threw a bottle at me
and instead I shook my head.
Stone relaxed but only slightly. The scowl etched onto his
harsh features remained and he appeared to be deep in
thought.
To lighten the mood, I stuck my tongue out at him. My tactic
failed as he continued to look down at me with a serious
expression.
"What are you looking so worried about, Lurch?"
"Do you get lonely here yourself?" The gravelly voice was
quiet when uttered his concerns.
I did get lonely myself. I sometimes felt so hollow that I had
conversations with myself. I got so bored that I sat and
made-up theories about Egyptian mummies and
Scandinavian Vikings to keep myself entertained.
"It is not that bad." I lied to him with a shrug of my shoulder
"I have peace and quiet to get through my collection of
books."
"You are lying." He gruffly remarked, his husky voice
growing deeper.
I crossed my arms and challenged "And how did you gather
that?"
"I told you." He grumbled, his serious scowl never breaking
"I am an Ella Expert."
"You are a pain in my ass." I rebutted, trying to act serious
but I failed because I smiled at him "That is what you are."
Stone's attention flicked to my smile and his tensed wide
shoulders relaxed.
"Why am I a pain in your ass, Medusa?"
I opened my mouth and then closed it.
"Because...Because you are everywhere," I lamely replied as
I stared up at him "And when you're not then I end up
wondering where you are and when you are going to show
up again."
The permanent scowl that he usually wore on his face
disappeared for a good minute. The corner of his mouth
hiked up in a small triumphant smirk.
I looked down at my legs and fought the urge to crawl back
into my bed in embarrassment.
"You are always thinking about me?" The words left his large
chest in a raspy drawl "Is that what you are trying to say?"
"I think about you because I hate you so much." I rebutted
with a nervous laugh.
He chuckled while the corner of his lip twitched again.
I was still holding out to see him smile.
"What the hell was yesterday with Chase?" I finally
remembered to ask, "You turned full Tyler Durden."
Stone shook his head, his lip twitching upwards as he spoke
"Trust you to make a Fight Club reference."
I shushed him "First rule of fight club is to not talk about
fight club."
"You are changing the subject about you thinking about me
all of the time." He mentioned with a deep sigh.
While attempting to tame my hair, I glared at him "You are
changing the subject about yesterday at the ice cream
place. So, we are even."
"I will be honest with you when you are with me."
I sighed because he was right. I nodded my head in
agreement.
Instead of asking what I meant when I said I thought about
him, he asked "Do you ever get lonely?"
He knew I was lying last time so there was no way out of his
trap. I had to answer honestly.
"Of course, I do. Being alone sucks." I admitted before
feeling the need to add humour to my statement "That is
why when I’m older, I am going to have loads of kids. If I
have a lot of little people running around, I will never be
lonely again. I also want kids so I can sit at the cinema and
watch animated films without judgement."
His dark eyes turned a little softer as they flicked over my
face.
"Oh, and also to swing freely on the monkey bars at the
park without getting dirty looks." I added.
My outburst had definitely gotten carried away. I brought my
knees to my chest as I faced him, and he looked down at me
with amusement in his gaze.
"You do know that you are too small for the monkey bars.
You might hurt yourself if you fall off." He grumbled lowly
"You will need to marry a tall man."
"I am not that small!" I shouted up at his smug-looking face.
"Sure, you are not." He chuckled before adding "Little
Medusa."
"It is my turn to ask a question." I pointed out while frowning
at him "Why did you lie about Kermit being fixed?"
Stone's reply was a short angry mutter "I could not bare to
see you with him."
"What do you have against Chase?"
Chase was a douchebag with an audience but one-to-one he
was a nice enough guy. He just liked to wind up people.
The thick muscular leg brushed against mine and he leant
down so he could move a strand of hair behind my ear. A
tingly sensation shot its way up my neck and to my face and
followed his touch.
"I can't see or think about you with another guy." He spoke
in his deep voice like a god who was speaking an ancient
law "I would end up killing someone."
I raised an eyebrow at him when I quietly challenged “I
thought I was your best friend's girlfriend's best friend?"
"Is that what you think you are?" He demanded to know, his
voice dropping an octave.
Shrugging, I then nudged him with my elbow and spoke up
with a teasing smile “I think you are starting to think of me
as more than an acqenemy. Maybe even a friend."
Silence filled the room.
"I am not your fucking friend." He growled like the thought
poked at the predatory animal inside him.
"Fine." I forced out a laugh while I held my hands up in
surrender "I’m not your friend."
I tried not to let my disappointment show and I kept a smile
on my face. I tried not to be too disheartened because I
knew that Stone did not like people in general.
"Medusa—" He began to grumble a response as his large
round shoulders tensed.
"You are not my friend, and you might be a little more than
an acqenemy." I recovered the conversation by teasing him
"The only explanation is that you want a piece of the Ella
Éclair."
"The Ella Éclair?" His deep voice recited, his shoulders
relaxing slightly.
"Shut up!" I laughed my words out "It had to be an
alliteration and Ella Escargot does not have the same
temptation."
He hummed in reply. I did not miss how his lip twitched
again in a small smile. My attention fell on his lip and it had
me wondering how I would manage to see him with a full
smile.
A chuckled broke my train of thought and I stopped staring
at his mouth.
"What?" I quickly said, acting like I was not thinking about
him.
"You do know that you have been staring at me for the past
five minutes."
"I was not!" I defended.
He smirked before he stood up from the bed and asked,
"Can I take a shower?"
"I don't know." I muttered, still embarrassed I was caught
staring "Can you?"
"Why?" He questioned, peering down at me as his lip
twitched again "Do you want to come and help me?"
I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a sigh "Go and
take your stupid shower, Rasputin."
"Rasputin?"
"Yeah. You are both tall and huge and evil." I explained, "I
also want to assassinate you."
His dark chuckle was heard down the hall as he made his
way through to the bathroom.
My feet swung off the bed and I slowly got up from the
mattress. I walked out of my room and through the hall,
passing the sound of running water.
As I made my way through to the kitchen, I tried not to think
about the fact that Stone was naked in the room next to me.
The living room was clean when I entered it to get to the
kitchen. The bottles of empty liquor were nowhere to be
seen. It meant that Stone had gotten up during the night
and cleaned it up.
Just as I was about to make myself some breakfast, my
phone went off so I sat down at the kitchen island and
answered it.
"Hey Barbie." I greeted my best friend, holding the phone to
my ear.
"Ella, are you okay?" She rambled out her words in a rush
"Why are you not at school?"
I pulled my phone away from me so I could look at the time.
The screen read ten o'clock. I had been too busy thinking
about the large man in my bed that I had forgotten to set
the alarm for school.
"I’m sorry." I quickly replied to Lana "I'm not feeling that well
today so I'm just going to stay home."
Lana sighed "Are you okay? Do you want me to bring you
anything after school?
"I will be fine." I smiled at her caring nature before laughing
into the phone "No doubt you have plans with Loverboy
tonight."
The other side of the line went quiet before she spoke again
"Maybe."
"Enjoy school." I remarked sarcastically "Have fun in English
without me."
"It will be quiet in class today." She stated before explaining
"Stone is not here either. There must be an illness going
around. Brennan mentioned that last night Stone said he
was not coming to school today."
"Last night?" I repeated, deducting that Stone had already
decided we were both not going to school before this
morning.
Speaking of the bane of my existence, I heard him shut the
bathroom door being him.
Lana asked, "What have you caught?"
I swivelled on the stool to keep myself entertained but when
I noticed the sight in front of me, I stopped.
Stone was standing at the doorway with nothing on but a
towel around his bottom half. A very low hanging towel.
His dark hair was wet, and a strand fell onto his face. His
black tattoos glistened under the light and his eight-pack
was soaking wet. A drop of water fell from his hair and ran
down onto his chest, making me watch it as it did so.
The only thing stopping him from being fully naked in all of
his glory was a towel.
"Ella?" Lana called to me "Are you still there?"
"Yeah. Sorry." I put my phone back to my ear and forced
myself to look away "What was your question?"
"What have you caught?" She repeated before suggesting
"The cold? The flu?"
My attention had been compelled back to the half-naked
giant and how the veins bulged in his muscular arm as he
adjusted the knot on his towel.
I panicked and ended up answering "Lurchiatias."
"I don't think I have heard of that." Lana hummed to herself,
not picking up on the significance of the name before asking
"What are the symptoms?"
"You feel hot." I muttered to her "Your body feels all hot all
over."
"Okay. Hope you feel better." She delivered gently "I love
you."
"I love you too." I replied before saying a quick goodbye.
I placed the phone down on the table and faced Stone. I
pretended to be unaffected by the sight of his soaking wet
upper half in front of me as I glared at him.
He had his big arms crossed over his chest as his deep voice
demanded to know "Who was that?"
"Lana." I told him before asking "Why did you not wake me
up for school?"
"We are skipping today." He stated like it was non-
negotiable.
I studied his face for a good few seconds. I forced my gaze
to remain centred upwards.
"Why are you doing this?" I sighed before elaborating "I said
I was lonely but I'm not a little home-goblin that doesn't
leave her house. I don't need cheering up."
His gravelly demanding voice repeating "We are skipping."
"Fine," I gave in, thinking to myself that there were worse
ways to spend time than with an irritating giant "But I get to
pick what we do today."
Stone nodded once in agreement.
Getting up from my seat, I sauntered over to the kitchen
cabinets to get some cereal. The cupboard with the cereal
just had happened to be the tallest one.
I climbed onto the counter and reached upwards to grab the
box.
I almost had the box when I got pulled off the marble unit
and lifted by a large set of bare arms. I was set on the
ground before Stone grabbed the box without effort and
handed me the cereal.
"I almost had it." I argued with a huff.
He looked down at me with a scowl as he gritted out
scoldingly "Be careful."
As I fetched a bowl, the larger one of us went to sit on the
barstool at the kitchen island. He watched as I poured some
cereal. He also never let his gaze wither away from me as I
got the milk out of the fridge.
"Do you want some?" I asked while I dipped my spoon into
my bowl
Shaking his head, he remained silent.
"I know what you want." I told him with a mouthful of cereal
"You want apple pancakes. I am a mind reader."
"You are a mind reader?" He raised an eyebrow while
challenging "What am I thinking about now then?"
I twirled around twice before I joked to him “You are thinking
about how good I look in my Princess and The Frog
pyjamas."
Stone did not answer. He was too distracted looking at
something else. I followed his heated stare to my bare legs.
After a minute or two, his gaze roamed back up my body so
that he could meet my eye as he asked “What do you want
to do today?"
I jumped up onto the countertop to sit on it so that I could
face him.
"Who says we have to stay together today?" I pointed out
with a taunting smile "I'm already stuck with you at school."
His stare was intense. Even more intense than normal.
I looked down at myself and the realisation hit me.
The last time I was on the countertop top with him was
when we nearly kissed.
I pushed myself off the surface and stood up as I started to
distract myself by counting the colourful contents in my
bowl.
He followed every one of my little movements with his dark
eyes.
"What are you thinking about?" The deep voice spoke up.
"I'm thinking about how I can kill and hide a very tall
person."
The giant rose to his full towering height as he made his
way over to me.
"Did you know that in some myths they believed that
gorgons like Medusa turned a person into stone because of
a kiss?" The words were a guttural rasp from his large
hollow-sounding chest.
It became apparent that he was also thinking about our last
kitchen encounter.
It was uncharted waters. I had expressed many times how I
had found him annoying but I never spoke about my
attraction towards him.
I began to list reasons why to never let my immense
attraction show. Reason one was that it would result in me
surrendering the weird rivalry between us and declaring him
the winner. Two was that his already big enough ego would
grow. Finally, reason three was that he might not have found
me attractive.
He had stayed in my bed, and he had comforted me but
that might have been because he felt sorry for me.
I was not an ugly troll, but I did not think of myself as
anything special. I was not traditionally beautiful or
supermodel worthy. I believed that what I lacked in looks, I
made up in my personality. I believed that I was funny and
that was all that really mattered to me.
My eyes fell to his chest and then to his abs and then back
to his mouth. His mouth was in up in a small smirk.
"What are you looking at, Medusa?" He questioned; his
usually monotonous voice amused.
"Your lack of clothes does not bother me." I said and felt the
need to add more to my sentence to sell my lie "I have seen
loads of naked guys."
His eyes darkened before he gnarled "Who?"
"Too many to name." I smiled before leaning against the
counter and crossing my arms.
Stone neared me so that he was hovering over me. He leant
down and entrapped me between the counter and himself.
"You are lying." He affirmed like the fact that I was lying was
essential for his state of mind.
I rolled my eyes as he neared even closer.
"What are we doing today?" The raspy voice questioned
before adding "Except from me trying to stop you from
killing me and hiding my body."
"That is very nice of you to look out for me, Lurch."
He smirked while placing a hand on the counter behind my
back and remarking "I don't think they make prison overalls
for people as tiny as you."
I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. I instead shot him
a murderous look.
"I want to go to the beach today." I decided aloud.
I needed to get over my fear at some point. I was feeling a
little braver after standing up to my father the night before.
His expression contorted from surprise to concern when he
quickly questioned "Are you sure that is what you want to
do?"
I tried to stand straighter to seem taller. It failed because he
still towered over my small form.
"You don't think I can handle it?" I asked while frowning up
at him.
The words left him in a deep hoarse grumble of a noise
"Maybe I am the one that cannot handle it."
I tilted my head upwards and queried "What do you mean?"
My question forced him to meet my curious eyes.
He leant down so that his warm breath tickled my earlobe.
"I don't think I can handle seeing you in a bikini again. I am
struggling to hold myself back now with those shorts of
yours." His voice was a soft yet husky sounding growl "I
want to steal you for myself and place you on the counter
and finish what I started last time."
My ear was already heated at where his mouth lingered
near it. That heat reached over my face and down my neck
towards the rest of my body
I released a shaky breath as I tried to act like my heart was
not about to explode.
I wondered what his aim was. I wondered if he wanted to
leave me flustered because he genuinely wanted to or
because he was playing some sort of game with me.
Intentions were not something that I could understand.
Especially when they were someone else's.
I made a rule to myself that I was not allowed in any
circumstance to kiss my acqenemy. No matter how badly I
wanted to.
My face felt on fire as I kept my gaze on the floor. My eyes
slowly but surely traversed the well-built body until I
reached his face.
"Clothes." I blurted out.
The corner of his mouth rose infinitesimally.
"If we are going to the beach then I am going to need to get
changed." I stated the obvious as I forced myself to pull
away from him "And you will need to put some clothes on."
My hips had a mind of their own and I ended up walking
away from him and down the hall with a little more
movement in them. The dark eyes followed me down the
hall before I shut my bedroom door behind me.
It was dangerous territory we were walking together.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Nineteen
Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana blared through the
speakers of his car. With the windows rolled down, people on
the sidewalk were shooting all sorts of different types of
dirty looks.
When we first got in the car, it was silent. It was like
something hung in the air between us. I did not address it
and neither did he.
He stole glances my way a few times every minute as we
drove closer to the beachfront.
I kept my attention on the outside of the car and tried not to
feel the heat rise on my face from his penetrating gaze.
The tension broke when Stone turned on the radio and
pressed the CD button, so Kurt Cobain's voice and guitar
filled the confined space.
I ended up humming to myself as I let the wind blow my
hair. My eyes remained on the passing water, but I could
feel his smirk as he watched me tap a beat on the door.
"Where is your bike?" I asked, missing the thrill that came
along with the ride.
"It’s at Mike's." Stone replied before his deep voice filled
with smugness "Why? Are you missing your arms around
me?"
Not answering back, I rolled my eyes and faced the other
again. I let my hand wander out of the window so I could
feel the air between my fingertips.
His gravelly voice spoke again "What are you so deep in
thought about, Drizella?"
I hated that he knew my name. It was like fourteenth-
century witchcraft when people believed that if you knew a
witches' name, you could manipulate her. Him using my
name only manipulated my temper.  Not that I was a witch
but if I was then I would have turned him into my very own
pet snake by now.
I quickly replied, "I was just wondering if you always look
like someone from Sons of Anarchy."
He chuckled while he shifted the gearstick. He kept his eyes
on the road, but I could tell he was watching me in his
peripheral vision.
"I just can't wait to tell everyone that you have Disney
pyjamas." He said, sending me an irritatingly sexy smirk.
"Don't you dare!" I squealed but then I realised, "You don't
talk to anyone else."
Stone glanced again at me before looking back at the road.
"Why is that?" I questioned, remembering that I had never
seen him converse with anyone else but myself and
sometimes Brennan.
His lip twitched “I don't like people."
I rested my head back on the seat so and tilted my head to
the side to see him "Is that why you scare them away?"
"Scare them away?" He repeated, amused
"Everyone is scared of you." I stated before explaining "I
don't know if it is the height or your build or your tattoos or
your terrifying scowl. Maybe it is all of them combined but
they are."
"Good." He spoke gruffly "I don't want them to talk to me."
A small laugh escaped me, and I shook my head "You want
to know what I think?"
"What do you think, Medusa?"
"I don’t think you are as heartless as you make out." I said
aloud, straight from the core of my thoughts.
The side of his lip quirked up "You are the only one to think
that about me."
"I consider myself special." I joked before asking "You say
you don't talk to anyone, but you talk to me."
"You are an exception. The only exception."
It was my turn for my lip to twitch but I covered up my smile
by sticking my tongue out at him "That is fine then because
I think you are stuck with me."
The sound that escaped his throat was rough and husky
"You are definitely stuck with me."
"What have I done to deserve this fate?" I asked
dramatically while looking up at the roof like I was
pretending to ask a divine force.
He shot me a glare which I ended up laughing at. His
narrowed eyes then turned soft as he listened to the sound
of my light laughs.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I turned away from the
amused giant and looked down at my phone.
Brennan was calling me.
I brought the phone to my ear and spoke up "Hello?"
"Lana told me you were feeling sick." The silky sounding
voice belonging to Brennan sounded amused as he spoke
the words "I hope you are okay."
The words did not sound like something Brennan would say.
I was expecting a punchline or some other form of a joke.
"Thank you, Loverboy." I replied.
"Hope you feel better soon." He chuckled before adding
"Say hi to Stone for me."
"Okay." I answered absentmindedly before I turned to Stone
and told him "Brennan says hello."
Then it clicked. I had a moment of enlightenment and
noticed my moment of stupidity.
Stone also looked baffled by the omniscient Brennan that
knew I was with him.
Brennan was laughing as I remained stunned into silence.
The giant who was busy driving flicked between looking at
me and the road.
"You didn't tell him you were with me?" I asked Stone,
already knowing the answer by the look on his face.
"No. I didn’t." He replied, a softer expression taking over his
face "I didn't want to tell him about..."
I understood. He did not want to tell Brennan that I had a
breakdown. He did not want to share something that was
not his to share.
"Thank you." I uttered quietly.
"You never need to thank me for anything, Medusa."
The question of how Brennan assumed we were together
still played on my mind.
I brought the phone back to my ear and asked the man on
the other end of the line "How did you know?"
"Call it a feeling." Brennan hummed.
"You are so annoying." I spoke into the phone "I want to give
you a feeling in your face by punching you in the jaw."
Brennan let out a laugh.
"Enjoy English without me." I taunted "You won't be able to
copy my answers."
"I miss you too, Little Ella." Brennan chuckled again before
he mentioned "I don't always copy from you. There is Stone
as well. He is just as much of a smartass as you. That is why
you are perfect for each—"
"Bye Brennan." I cut him off before ending the call.
Stone continued stealing glances my way.
"Brennan is annoying." I huffed.
"Try dealing with him for years." Stone grumbled.
"Where did you two live before?" I questioned, curious to
know more about him "I don't think you have ever said."
"San Andreas." He replied, almost begrudgingly.
"That is quite far." I pointed out before asking "Why did you
move?"
"Better surfing spots."
"Just like that?" I said in disbelief "You up and move your life
to be closer to the coast because you enjoy surfing. There is
no other reason?"
Stone did not meet my eye when he said "No."
"Do you like it here?" I spoke when he went quiet.
His next reply was when he finally looked at me. His lip
twitched again in a small smile as he offered "I didn't when
we first moved."
"You do now?"
He covered his mouth and rubbed his jawline "There is one
reason worth sticking around."
"Your oven cleaning business?" I deadpanned.
His deep chuckle filled the car before he but went back to
focusing on the road.
I dropped the subject as I noticed that we were nearly there.
As the lights turned red, his head went back on the headrest
and to the side so he could see my hair.
"Your hair is brighter in the sunlight." He affirmed.
"I know." I said, twirling a strand of my now brighter green
hair "It was a different dye I used but I like it."
"I do, too."
"I’m sure you do." I said in a sarcastic tone, remembering
his comment about it being puke coloured "The green is a
little out there but at least I don't look as plain as I did."
"Plain?" He repeated in his harsh voice like he could not
believe what I was saying.
I did not know why he did not seize the opportunity to agree
with me. To mock me or crack a joke.
"Yeah. Dark brown hair. Dark brown eyes. Plain." I told him
"Even my freckles are even. I have thirteen on each cheek."
Stone shook his head, his sentence coming out as more of a
grumble "You are everything but plain."
The light turned to green, and he looked back ahead. That is
when he chose to lighten the mood with an expected
taunting comment.
"I'm surprised you don't describe your eyes with a made-up
colour." He remarked "Like happily-ever-after brown or
something"
He was never going to let the whole colour thing go. I doubt
he would ever forget fairytale green.
I let out a breath and admitted "I should have kept my
mouth shut that night and never have mentioned fairytale
green."
The annoying large man in the driver seat replied, “Then I
wouldn't have something to say to make you squirm."
The waves crept closer, and the feeling of dread took over
me. In all that fear, there was also a slight sensation of
excitement. I took a deep inhale and told myself that I was
strong enough to do this. I had to jump into the deep end
but maybe it would be better to get a push.
Lurch spoke and his words were reassuring "I'll be here
every step. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you."
"So, you are not going to let the fish eat my carcass after
you have killed me?"
"No. I am not." He assured me.
Strangely enough, I believed him.
We left the car ditched at a grass hill near the beach
promenade. Before we headed down to the sand, I removed
my tank top and my jean shorts leaving me with just my
black two-piece bikini.
Stone also removed his clothes until all that was on him was
a pair of black shorts that exposed his muscular legs. His
lack of shirt showed off his abs once again.
I doubted I would ever get used to the sight of him.
As we walked side by side down the path towards the shore,
the giant peered down at me. His eyes flicked over every
inch of my skin before he let out a string of rough deep
sounding curses.
The beach was empty. I was glad for the void of people
because it meant that if I ran away crying then I would not
have an audience.
However, I promised myself that I would cry as it gave a
certain annoying Goliath enough material to tease me for
the rest of our lives.
My feet reached the part of the land where the blue met the
sand. As the water engulfed my feet, I let out a deep breath.
I did so every time a wave reached the shore.
To distract myself, I decided to try and push Stone into the
sea.
I started by nudging him. When he did not move a single
millimetre, I dug my feet into the sand before putting my
back into it.
"Medusa, what are you doing?"
After two minutes of using all my strength to move the
boulder of a man, I gave up and finally looked up at his
amused face.
"I was trying to push you in the water." I mumbled.
"Were you?" He smirked "I didn't notice. I though a fly had
landed on me."
His comment gave me more of a reason to push him in the
water so I tried again.
My attempt did not last long because he effortlessly bent
down, put one large arm around the back of my legs and
hoisted me up until I was haunched over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" I demanded while trying to push away from
him "I get it. You are really strong."
This guy had to be close to seven foot and had to have
weighed more than three hundred pounds in muscle.
When he did not put me down, I turned my head to look at
the back of his head and I said "Are you enjoying the view?"
I felt him move against me. His head moved downwards
towards the part of my body that was closest to his face.
He did not reply. He only let out a deep noise from the
bottom of his throat that sounded like a hungry lion.
Stone put me down back on the ground when he was thigh-
deep in the water. Which made it like waist-deep for me.
The turquoise ocean and had me thinking to myself if I
should keep going and how much I would be able to take
before the memories resurfaced.
"You can do this." A voice said. A voice way too deep and
scary sounding to be my conscious.
Stone's hand grabbed mine and he squeezed reassuringly.
The water did not seem that terrifying anymore. Not
compared to the feeling that came along with spending time
with him. What sent shivers through my whole body was the
thought that I had let this guy in. I had built up so many
walls and secluded myself inside of them but now it had
seemed like he had come crashing into my life with the
strength of a bullet train.
I was quite a good swimmer when I was younger, but I found
myself relying on him for support.
The sea only reached up to his chest when I had to start
moving my arm to keep my head above water.  That was
when he dropped my hand and held my hips in his embrace
to keep me afloat.
A rush of the ocean hit my back and I was pushed further
into his bare chest. There was nowhere else to do but wrap
my arms around the back of his neck.
Our faces were so close that I could see mine clearly in the
reflection of his eyes. I looked down to break the intensity.
I always wanted to know what every tattoo of his meant, but
I was too scared to study the lines close enough in case he
caught me staring. Our proximity meant there was nowhere
else to hide. It was just us.
On the side of his torso was a tattoo of a tree. The large
tree's trunk stood tall but the top was slightly tilted and
leaves were falling off. It was intricate and completely
alluring.
The curiosity bubbled out of me as I continued to
investigate his body art with my finger "Why a tree?"
His head tilted downwards, and he joined me in looking at
the black drawing of the tree and he answered "My mother
was obsessed with all things nature."
"What was she like?" I asked softly.
I second-guessed my decision in asking him that. Perhaps it
was too prying.
Rather than telling me off for being nosy, he replied with a
hoarse voice "She was kind and compassionate. She was
always outside strolling through a woodland or growing
plants in the garden much to my dad's disapproval. Our
yard looked like a jungle."
I matched the small smile he had while talking about her.
I wanted to hear more so I pressed, "What else?"
"She was always making up quotes. Whenever I got into
trouble, which was a lot, she would always give me a half an
hour pep-talk full of metaphors."
I let out a small giggle at that "She sounds amazing. What
did she used to say?"
His mouth lifted further at the memory "Whenever we were
at the beach, she always said that love was like the bottom
of the ocean. If you are that deep, you can’t see it, but you
know it is there. You know that even if you cannot touch it, it
is there because you can feel it."
My smile grew. I loved that.
I wondered if he got his good looks and brains from his mom
or his dad. I figure it was probably both.
Letting my finger trail to the tattoo sleeve on his arm, I
questioned "What was your dad like?"
"Everyone said that he was like me."
"Your mother must have had her hands full then." I
commented with a giggle.
His laugh sent vibrations through me and because of our
proximity his warm breath hit my neck, making me tilt my
head back slightly exposing my neck to him further.
"You always have to have a smart answer." He said,
chuckling while nearing my face.
I lightly punched his chest as I softened my voice "You love
that I give you shit, and you know it."
Stone's lip twitched twice as he looked down at me and
shook his head.
The sun was beating down on both of us and my whole body
went warm. With his touch around my waist, my lower body
was kept uphold as I arched back and let my back and hair
get wet.
I closed my eyes, so I did not have to see his facial
expression as I did it. I tried to think about anything else but
him. I thought about Lana at school and how she was
getting on with Brennan. I thought about my dad and what
he was doing.
Each time a new thought popped into my head; it only
disappeared a second later. It seemed my brain was too
preoccupied with thoughts of the hands on me.
I wondered what he was thinking about. I wondered if he
was reminiscing about his parents or his old life in San
Andreas. I wondered if maybe he was thinking about the
same thing I was.
I never thought over my action to arch my back before I did
it. I was more interested in cooling down that I did not think
about how the position would look from his angle.
Especially with just a bikini on.
I slowly straightened my back until I was back in the
position I was before. The only difference was that I did not
wrap my arms around him.
Instead, I inspected him. From his pitch-black hair to his
even darker eyes. From his ripped body to his mouth that
always seemed to be up in a smirk. The mouth that
challenged me more than anyone else had.
He gave me a run for my money every single day. It was
constant and I was determined to win. He was my match but
also my rival. He was the person to make me switch
between the desire to strangle him and to wanting
something else.
Something else that I wanted at that moment. Something
that went against the rule I had just made that morning.
Stone moved a piece of hair out of my face as he chuckled
"Your hair looks even more like seaweed."
"Shut up!" I yelped while I have his chest a gentle swat with
my hand.
He shook his head while he chuckled again "Such a violent
little thing."
The heat spread from the tip of my toes to my cheeks.
"You are not exactly a calm and collected person either,
Lurch." I made my point by adding "Mr I've-been-kicked-out-
of-school-seventeen-times."
His lip moved again as if he was about to smile but he
stopped himself. Maybe it was because he was too busy
preoccupied with stroking my hip.
"You don't get into any fights at our school though." I
mentioned
Staring at me for a good few minutes, he eventually shook
his head once.
"Why not?"
"I can't get kicked out of school this time." He replied,
determinedly.
I tilted my head.
He moved another stray hair from my face as he elaborated
"I can't leave you in English. You would miss me too much."
My eyes rolled before I scolded "Well, keep it like that. No
fighting. I will not visit you in prison."
"Why not, Medusa?" He asked with an eyebrow rose.
"I'll send you a postcard." I joked before adding "If you are
lucky enough."
As his stare intensified so did his grip on my hips. He moved
me closer until I was pressed up against him.
We kept our gazes matched.
His eyes were like two blackholes. I had been sucked in and
I was not sure if I would be able to escape.
I was not sure if I wanted to.
One of his hands moved from my hip to my cheek until he
caressed his thumb on the side of my face.
I had read a lot of books in my time. One of the techniques
common among them was foreshadowing. An event that is
hinted at throughout the book. A warning. My life was not
any sort of book but this was my story and I had never
predicted this.
Our faces were so close. So close that I could how dark his
eyes had darkened.
His deep voice pulsated through my body as he growled
"Fuck it."
Then he kissed me.
His mouth crashed on to mine as he gently lifted my chin to
accommodate the large height difference. He bent down
from his neck and cradled my face as his lips brushed mine.
His lips were so gentle yet wonderfully harsh as he kissed
me with such a ferocity.
His tongue brushed over my lip lower, asking for more.
My body thrummed as I opened my lips to him and threw
my arms around the back of his neck.
He kissed me slowly as if he was savouring every detail and
every stroke of my tongue. I tilted my head to give him
more access as he dominated my tastebuds.
I pulled back for a shaky breath "Do not stop."
"I wasn't planning on it." He growled before bringing my lips
back to his.
Stone went back to gripping my hips as he deepened the
kiss. He threw my body up above the surface of the water
until he caught me again and my legs were wrapped around
his middle.
Our tongues danced in a silent battle. Desire ran through
every cell of me as I let my hands roam up to his hair and
clutched the strands as a dare for him to never stop.
I could kiss him forever. The sea could have swallowed me
up for all I cared.
If this was some sort of trick he had planned to get one up
on me, I could try and regret it later.
I was too busy embracing the warmth from his lips to care. I
had never experienced something so passionate. He was
dominating my whole body as he led the kiss in such a way
that was sweet yet savage. It was a wordless war between
us. A war that I was unsure what we were fighting for.
Our breaths were unsteady as we pulled apart. He rested his
forehead on mine. I kept my eyes closed not wanting to face
him yet. No doubt he was smug. I did not initiate the kiss,
but I did not hold back.
The water submerged me as I shimmied out of his hold and
ducked into the water. I did not dare face him. Before the
splashing of water, the last thing I heard before my head
was underwater was a husky laugh.
I looked down at the seabed where fish of multiple colours
swam. The light from the sky lit up the water, reflecting
colours of blue and even green. It was not that terrifying
down there.
I wondered if she was scared that night. I wondered if she
was too busy at the depths of despair to admire the depths
of the ocean.
When I ran out of breath, I swam back up to the surface. My
hair covered my face so I moved it so I could see Stone's
expression.
He did not look smug at all. Instead, he looked attentively at
me as he said, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." I truthfully answered him "I am."
He nodded and he started to take a step closer. With my
newfound confidence in the water, I splashed him and swam
away in the direction of the shore.
After he erupted with a deep noise that sounded like a half-
laugh half-growl, he followed behind.
The surfer was faster at swimming than me and he caught
up in no time. However, he did not pounce or splash back.
Maybe he was worried that I would end up drowning.
As soon as the sand touched my feet, I started to walk up
the beach.
He followed behind quietly. Too quietly. Like a predator
before it kills its prey.
I turned around and he smirked at me evilly.
Flight or fight set in, and I chose flight. I was worried that he
would still try and kill me, so I broke out into a sprint away
from him.
As I reached our clothes that were randomly placed in a
heap on the sand, I picked up the towel and wrapped it
around me.
Stone did not run after me. He casually strolled up to me,
chuckling at my ridiculous attempt to flee from him.
I let out a laugh as he neared and towered over me with a
devilish smirk.
I thought he was going to kiss me again but just as he
moved closer, his phone went off.
He let out a cuss as he rummaged through his jacket pocket
until he picked up the phone and answered it.
After he hung up on the caller, he appeared furious as his
attention drew to the other end of the beach.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
His jaw ticked but when he looked down at me, his dark
eyes lightened but only slightly.
"I need to go." He grumbled.
My eyes widened before I offered him a single nod.
I tried not to show him how disheartened I was.
I stayed silent on our way back to the truck and I stayed
silent the drive back to my apartment building.
The conclusion I drew from his disappearing act was that he
could not wait to escape me.
He regretted the kiss.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty
The stairs dug into my back as I waited patiently for Lana to
arrive. I was deep in thought as I sat and arranged my hair
into a side-braid.
I was still left with so many unanswered questions from the
day before. A million thoughts had kept me up at night. My
brain had constantly been making theories about where the
leather jacket-wearing giant had disappeared to.
All my theories were the same. My conclusion was there was
no place he had to be.
He just needed to go somewhere that I was not.
I planned to avoid the large man like the plague.
After I tied my hair into a side-fishtail and fixed the stray
hairs, I returned my gaze to the parking lot as I waited for
my best friend.
Lana had texted me in the morning telling me to meet her
earlier at school. She sounded urgent and stressed out. It
was unlike her, so I was instantly concerned.
To keep myself entertained, I counted the cars in the lot. My
counting resulted in me missing Kermit more. I had still not
got my little green car back because it was still being
repaired.
Stone had driven me to school every morning except this
one. I had decided to leave my house early in hope that I
would not cross his path.
I did not know why I was acting in such a frantic way. I had
kissed many boys and never spoke to them after.
This felt like a different situation entirely. The kiss was
different.
The cobbled steps tapped under Lana's cherry pattered
shoes as she hurried in my direction. She raced over my
way before joining me on the cement stairs leading up to
the school building.
Her smile was strained, and it did not look genuine.
Scooting closer to her, I put my arm around her shoulder
and asked softly "What is wrong, Barbie?"
She shot me another fake smile before assuring "Nothing,
Freak Show."
"Out with it." I said sternly, concerned about her "I know
something is wrong. I can read you like a book."
"And you do read a lot of those." She commented with a
small laugh.
I stuck my tongue out at her and then realised she was still
trying to deflect the conversation away from what was
bothering her.
"What is going on?" I asked again.
"Brennan and I were sitting having lunch yesterday and he
just got up and left." She sighed like she was tired "No
explanation. He just ran out of school to go somewhere."
I realised that was similar timing to when Stone dropped me
off at my apartment building and left.
A small exhale of relief left me that he had not entirely left
me because of the kiss.
I focused again on the very distraught Lana and squeezed
her to my side as I offered her a reassuring smile.
"You know what he is like. He has done this a few times now
so it must be important." I tried to keep my voice strong
while I spoke "Have you asked him why he leaves so out of
the blue?"
She shook her head.
"It is not just Brennan's disappearing that has me doubting
our relationship." Lana added.
"Then what is it?" I asked softly.
Her expression went sheepish as she revealed while playing
with the bottom of her white summer dress "I feel like
sometimes there is so much awkward silence between us.
Sometimes when we are hanging out, we just run out of
things to talk about."
I had noticed their awkward silences, but I never brought it
up with her. I just thought that maybe I had picked up the
wrong signal from them which was usually the case.
"I feel like I have to put so much effort in to talk to him. It
does not flow naturally." She revealed before uttering "Not
like you and Stone."
I choked on the air "What?"
She laughed at my expression before pointing out "You two
never run out of things to talk about. He looks like he hangs
on to every single word you speak and that he would die to
hear a word from your lips."
No reply left my mouth because it was hung open in shock
at her statement.
"You two always seem to be talking." She stated.
"That is because we are always arguing."
"You don't argue." She corrected "You bicker."
"There is not a difference."
"Drizella Anastasia Miller, queen of all things nerdy and the
English language." Lana scolded while tutting "You know
there is a massive difference"
I shushed her "Never use my full in name in public. It is bad
enough that I know my name and am constantly tortured by
it."
We laugh before the amusement died out and we get back
to the problem at hand. It had become my problem now
because any problem that was hers was mine and I would
always try and help her.
"I want more affection." She revealed before giving an
example "I want a cute nickname. You get a cute nickname."
I rose an eyebrow at her while asking "What cute
nickname?"
"Medusa."
"An ugly monster in mythology." I added before asking "How
is that cute?"
"It is." She argued.
"You get called Lovely Lana. That is cute." I pointed out
before mentioning "Nobody has ever found me lovely."
"Lovely is just bleh." The blonde said before she thought of
something else and spoke again "I don't know if Brennan
and I have chemistry."
"Sure, you do." I quickly replied but then I wondered if what
I said was the truth.
Lana was shy to people she did not know but when she was
comfortable was when she showed her personality. She was
funny and sassy when she felt at ease.
I wondered if she would ever show the true side of herself
with Brennan or not.
"We don't hold a candle to you and Stone." Lana quietly
murmured.
I blinked a few times in shock at her statement.
"Stone and me? Chemistry?" I scoffed in hope she would
believe me, and I would believe myself "Nope. No. Na-da.
There is nothing between us."
I wanted to tell her about the kiss. I needed someone to talk
to about it but it was not the time. Not when she was
dealing with her own problems.
Lana shook her laughing before she started tapping a beat
on her knee "I know I sound ungrateful, but I just want
more."
"That is not ungrateful." I told her, squeezing her closer "If
that is how you feel then that is how you feel. You don't
need to feel bad about your feelings."
"What am I going to do?" She questioned, looking off into
the distance as she sulked.
"You like Brennan. That is obvious. You just need to find
something to talk about. Even if it is the most bizarre thing
ever. Talk about anything. The crazier the better." I
suggested to her and then added some more advice "In the
meantime, write a song about what you are feeling. You said
you were struggling to find your muse, and this is it. Every
flaw in Taylor Swift's relationship was written down as a
song. If you do write a song, then tell Brennan about it and
that gives you something to talk about."
She smiled gratefully before nudging me with her elbow
“When did you become such a love guru?"
I rolled my eyes before nudging her back.
"For that advice, I am expecting a song dedicated to me
when you become famous." I told her seriously "Actually
screw that. I want a whole album dedicated to me."
She giggled but then stopped herself like she had just
remembered something.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
"Do you think I should..." She spoke up but could not finish
her sentence, so she instead moved her fingers around in a
suggestive motion.
I tilted my head to the side and gave her a confused look.
Lana let out a frustrated sigh before she blurted out "Do you
think I should have sex with him?"
"Only you can know if you are ready to take your
relationship to the next stage. It should be when you are
ready and when you one hundred percent want to." I gave
her the best advice I could "This is one thing that I can't tell
you what to do. It should be solely up to you.
"Please." She pleaded "I want your opinion."
"I’m not some sort of sex-expert." I laughed the words out
"I’m not a relationship-expert either."
"You are more experienced than me." Lana mentioned.
"I have fooled around." I murmured, "But I have not went all
the way to pound-town."
Her lip quivered before she burst out into a fit of laughter
"Pound-town?"
I bit my lip to contain my own laughter before I told her "I
think that the fact that you are asking me about whether or
not you should sleep with him is an answer in itself."
She nodded before her attention went to something in the
distance.
A familiar black truck was pulling up into the parking lot.
My heels twitched and I had the urge to run away.
"Brennan is in the car too." Lana observed as she stared at
Stone's truck.
I stood up abruptly from the stairs and quickly blurted out "I
will leave you to it. I need to go to my locker anyway."
"Any last advice?"
"Make conversation with him. Just not about the menstrual
cycle." I joked "Guys get really creeped out about it for
some reason."
"Can we have a girl’s day tomorrow?" Lana asked, her head
tilting up so that she could look at me "Just the two of us. I
have really missed watching TV and eating junk food with
you."
"Definitely." I agreed and offered her a smile.
I set off in a small run so that I could get away from the two
men before they came over. More specifically to get away
before Stone came over.
I sped walked through the corridors of the empty school. It
turned out most people were not in the mood to arrive at
school early and I could not blame them.
Thinking about Lana and Brennan as I scurried further away
from the entrance of the school, I truly hoped that
everything worked out between them.
I wanted the group to stay intact, and it was not just for the
two of them. I had another selfishly confusing motive that
had to do with the other giant male at the table.
Opening the door to my locker, I was about to pick up a
folder when a body leaned against the wall next to me.
Chase pretended to reach out to try and give me a hug.
"Get away!" I swatted him with one of my jotters "You are all
sweaty."
"I had football practise." He laughed before rubbing his arm
over his forehead "Why are you so early today?"
"I had to meet Lana." I replied while taking what I needed
from the small compartment before closing the locker and
facing him completely "I'm sorry for what happened at the
ice cream place. I hope you managed to do more of your
essay."
"It is not your fault." Chase said while waving my apology
off "I am actually surprised that your pet monster is not here
now."
My mouth opened and then closed.
"My pet monster?" I repeated quietly.
"He is always watching you." He said like it was an
observation rather than an exaggeration "He follows you
around like your very own pet monster. He looks ready to rip
apart anybody that comes close to you."
I had no clue what to reply to him so I changed the subject
and offered him "I could send you some of my class notes
on Shakespeare if you want."
Chase's attention went to something or someone over my
shoulder before he replied.
"I have looked at notes online. I just can't seem to take
them in." The quarterback informed before proposing "I was
thinking another study session one on one would help me."
"Sure." I agreed, not thinking much about it.
His tone changed from serious to flirty as his eyes flicked
over my shoulder again "My house straight after school? I
would have done later but I am going to the beach tonight
—"
I should have known who was standing behind me by the
huge shadow cast on the lockers and the chill that went
down my spine at his presence.
The temperature had risen significantly at his arrival and his
fury.
Turning around, I faced the giant bulldozer of a man who
lurked behind me.
Stone's face was completely emotionless, yet the stance of
his large form gave away that he was furious. His anger was
not directed towards me, however. His eyes flicked over the
blonde quarterback while the veins in his neck bulged in an
angry rhythm.
The scowl had to have been his scariest yet. It had the
capability of making the devil cower before him.
Even I was a little taken aback by how petrifying he looked.
Chase did not address the murderous one and instead spoke
to me "I will see you tonight."
The ground shook for a split second as Stone neared him
and gnarled "No. You fucking won't."
The jock laughed at him before he swaggered away. He
seemed to walk away a little faster than normal which was
probably because of the dark pair of eyes watching him as if
they were about to incinerate him.
Stone slowly turned his head until our gazes locked. The
dark emotion still swirled around in his irises as he stole a
step of the distance between us.
Unlike the way he looked at Chase like he wanted to snap
his neck, the heated wrath changed when he peered at me.
He still appeared seething, and he looked down upon me as
if he wanted to tie me to his bed and leave me there to rot.
I was trapped by his gaze, and I did not move. Even if the
best plan was to break out into a supersonic run.
We took turns taking a step. He took a step towards me, and
I took a step back away from him.
When my back hit the locker was when he prowled. His body
pressed against mine and both of his hands slammed up
until they were at each side of my head.
His head lowered until his warm breath tickled my neck,
leaving me entrapped and vulnerable.
I eventually had no choice but to meet his pitch-black eyes.
"Hi, Lurch." I greeted him, pretending as if I did not feel him
everywhere.
"You are not going to his house." He growled, not bothering
with pleasantries.
Crossing my arms, I challenged "Oh really?"
His response was to lean closer and harshly whisper "I think
you are just meeting him to piss me off."
"I think you are giving yourself far too much credit for my
decision making." I rebutted "I don't make choices and keep
you in the front of mind as I do so."
Still being mad at him for ditching me at the beach might
have played a small part in my decision but I was not telling
him that.
Frustration radiated from him. From his harsh pants of
breath to his ticking jaw and to the veins bulging in his arm
and in the hands on the locker next to my head.
"Has it occurred to you that I actually need to tutor Chase?"
I mentioned to him.
"You are not going." He repeated, his guttural command
shaking his chest.
"I really think I am getting through to him. He even made
this comment about pasta and Shakespeare." I changed
tactics and pointed out that the meeting was entirely
educational "We have spent so much time studying together
that he is starting to sound like me.
Stone gnarled "What part of that sentence was meant to
make me feel better?"
"I am going." I argued, rising on my toes.
"You are not." He grumbled, flicking his attention from my
glare to my lips.
"It is none of your business." I told him.
He chuckled humourlessly and then it died out as he gritted
out "Say that again."
"Am I speaking Swahili?" I deadpanned before repeating "It
is none of your business."
"You are my business."
One of the large hands on the locker lowered until it brushed
against my green plait.
Wondering why I was still choosing to remain in his hold, I
ducked under his arm so that I was no longer cornered by
him.
His vein-struck hands remained on the locker for a second
longer before he dropped them and faced me.
"I am going." I stated and made it final "Mr Dankworth
trusted me to help him so that is what I am going to do."
The sharp jawline ticked until he spoke again in his rough
voice "It is not happening."
"What are you going to?" I mocked, waving my hands
around in the air dramatically "Stop me?"
An evil smirk graced his features. He nodded once, a
declaration of way.
"Game on, Medusa." He promised darkly.
After what felt like an eternity of him studying me, his gaze
softened as he noticed my crossed arms and my angry pout.
I was left speculating what his next move would be as I
walked away from him.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-One
"So, you have to tutor Chase again?" Lana asked while
staring up at the clock above the teacher's board.
I nodded as I watched the seconds tick by. It was the last
period of the week and I only had to listen to French
sentences about directions for another five minutes.
Tapping on the desk with my pencil, I replied to her
"Unfortunately. Friday evenings are for a person to go home
and do absolutely nothing. Not studying."
As she shut her textbook, she rose an eyebrow "But you go
home to read anyway?"
"Fair enough." I gave her the benefit of the doubt before
pointing out "You and Brennan seemed to look okay at
lunch."
Lana blushed and I took that as a sign that things were
better between them.
"He is taking me out for dinner tonight to make it up to me
for bailing yesterday." She voiced with a small smile.
"That is great that he is making an effort." I told her "I'm
happy for you."
She smiled and then her grin dropped when she
remembered something "What was with Stone today?"
"What do you mean?" I said, acting like I had not noticed the
giant's behaviour.
"He looked so mad."
I replied with a small laugh "He always looks mad."
She made a noise of disagreement, but it came out as more
of a tune of a song.
"He usually spends all of lunch bickering with you." Lana
mentioned, her tone sounded full of worry "Today he just sat
looking at you like he was plotting something."
I had noticed the same thing.
"This is a very serious and intense battle between us." I
agreed as I continued tapping my pencil on the desk
nervously "He is planning something."
"You got one thing right. It is definitely intense between you
two."
Tidying the desk, I started to put my things back in my bag.
I was getting ready to run when the bell rang. Something
told me that Stone's words were not something to take
lightly.
His declaration felt quite real. I did like winding up and
taunting my overgrown rival, but I never wanted to see him
angry. I did not want him to be angry at me.
I was going to avoid running into him so that I could avoid
running into conflict with him.
Lana looked from my clear desk to my feet that were ready
to run and she asked, "What are you doing?"
"I am just so excited for the weekend." I lied "Plus, I hate
this class"
"That is because you don't put any effort in learning the
language."
Fake gasping at her true statement, I replied "Je suis trop
paresseuse pour apprendre une langue."
"What if one day I decide to move to France?" She huffed
out.
The end of day bell rang and by the time the noise stopped,
I was already halfway out of the classroom.
"If you moved to France then you would still be able to
speak English." I turn back to Lana and blew her a kiss as I
called back to her "Au Revoir!"
Lockers and classmates whizzed past me as I walked as fast
as my little legs could go. I was one of the first people to
exit the main entrance of the school.
I let out a sigh of relief.
That relief was short-lived as I noticed that Chase was not
one of the people outside.
Tapping my foot while I waited for him, I analysed every
single person that came out the school door.
Chase finally walked through the double doors of the school
and sauntered towards me.
"Sorry I'm late." He said as he came to a stop a meter in
front of me "You ready to go?"
"Sure." I replied before turning around and getting ready to
walk towards the quarterback's car.
I was in disbelief that it was that easy. I was in disbelief that
the giant had decided to let me go after all.
That changed suddenly.
The world turned upside down in a blink of an eye.
A bulky arm wrapped around my waist before hoisting me
up.
It took a few seconds to realise where I was and how I had
gotten there.
My stomach rested on a strong shoulder while the rest of my
body slumped over against the huge muscular back.
Stone had appeared so quickly that it was like he was
lurking in the shadows and waiting for his opportunity to
pounce.
Before I could protest, the giant began to walk away with
me hunched over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
His back was to the school, and it gave me a clear view of
the shocked quarterback as I got carried away.
Chase shouted towards us "Dude, what are you doing?"
No reply came from Stone. Nothing apart from a series of
grunts and gnarls.
"Let me down!" I shouted in protest.
The vice-like arm on my waist tightened as the man carrying
me grumbled "No."
"Let me down now, Lurch!"
"No." He released from his chest gutturally "You are the only
thing keeping me from painting the sidewalk with his blood."
I fought him every step of the way. I thrashed wildly against
him and pounded my fists firmly but carefully into his back
as I remained over his shoulder.
Nobody dared to stop him. Every person in the school lot
stepped out of the giant way's way with an open mouth and
widened eyes. They all did nothing as they watched the
caveman steal his plaything.
"You big brute!" I shouted as he tightened his grip around
my waist as he carried me to his truck "You gorilla sized
idiot! You overgrown man! You large kidnapper!"
I was scared of heights.
He unlocked his truck and opened the passenger side door.
He carefully placed me on the seat before locking the door.
He unlocked the truck again when he got around to his side
and climbed into the driver's seat.
Stone gripped onto the steering wheel as a low-pitched
noise left his throat.
"What do you think you are doing?" I shouted accusingly at
him "This is kidnapping!"
Finally turning to me, Stone finally grumbled "Your car is
fixed."
"I have heard that one before." I scoffed while rolling my
eyes "Even if I did believe you, which I don't, what kind of
customer service involves kidnapping a person?"
He turned the ignition before he returned to gripping the
steering wheel. His knuckles had turned white, and the
veins bulged out of his large hands as he did so.
"Why are you so mad?" I felt my chest move up and down
as I asked the question.
His darkened eyes met mine. He leaned over in his seat
towards my one so that he could see me better. 
"I went to your apartment this morning and you were not
there." His voice was sharper than knives as he revealed to
me "Then I worry so I race here. Only to find you with the
blonde prick."
"I was meeting Lana. You know that. Brennan came to
school with you so he should have told you we were
meeting early." I retorted back honestly before asking
"Anyway, how are they going to get back home?"
"Do not change the subject, Medusa."
"I met Chase at my locker, and he said he needed more help
with his essay." I told him honestly "Nothing more
interesting than that happened."
The closeness between us surprised me as I noticed the
proximity. I had leaned over too to be closer to him.
I tried to avoid looking at his lip that was curled into a scowl.
He snarled like the very thought alone was enough to drive
him mad "He has a lot more than studying on his mind."
I did not back down as I asked the question that had been
sitting on my tongue for a long time "Why do you care?"
His eyes softened to a pool of black liquid as he stared down
at me.
"Why do I care?" His deep voice repeated with a humourless
chuckle.
"Yeah." I confirmed and asked again "Why do you care?"
Stone remained silent.
"Why did you steal me away?"
"Fuck." Stone let out gruffly while running a hand through
his inky black hair "I don't know how to do this."
"Do what? Kidnap people?" I questioned, my tone turning
deadpan "I hate to compliment you but you are doing a
pretty good job at it."
The tense heat between us continued to build up and it was
no closer to shattering as we stared at one another.
The four words that escaped his mouth set the small
amount of air in his truck on fire.
He released his confession out ferally "Because you are
mine."
"What?" I asked quietly, thinking that I had misheard him.
His voice was not any less carnal as he stated the words like
there was no way of changing the law of them "You are
mine."
My eyes widened. It took a while for the words to fully sink
in.
I slowly backed away from him and tried not to think about
the feeling in my stomach.
"Excuse me?" I bit out so that he would not notice the
redness of my face "Have I entered the DeLorean instead of
your truck and we have travelled back to a time where
women are seen as objects?"
"I do not think of you as an object." He grumbled like even
the idea of that in my head insulted him "You are my
Medusa."
Stone pulled out of the parking space and did not speak as
he did so.
I did not look at him when I finally broke the silence "Where
are we going?"
We were on the main road when he gruffly informed me
"Somewhere I can keep my eye on you. Where you will not
leave my sight."
I figure his place of work was going to be his personal Ella
dungeon and surveillance room for the day as the car
neared the green pained garage.
"What have you done to the girl?" Mike said to Stone as we
entered the repair shop "She looks like she wants to murder
you."
The mechanic's workshop had two cars parked inside. A
silver sports car and a familiar small green one. I tore my
attention from Kermit to the old man in front of us who was
waiting for us to reply.
Stone did not look in any hurry to answer so I did instead.
"Does all of your employees kidnap their customer to hand
deliver them to their car?" I questioned the old mechanic.
Mike's mouth went up in a smile and it made his cheeks
more wrinkled as he answered, "Stone is the only person
that works for me so yes."
My giant abductor chuckled before he walked over to a
workstation.
"I think you should fire him." I told Mike, pointing to Stone "I
know you want your customers to feel valued but picking
them up, carrying them to their truck and then driving them
here is a bit excessive."
The dark pair of eyes narrowed in on me when he gnarled "I
should have taken the blonde prick's eyes for even thinking
he could lay them on you."
My heart hammered against my chest.
I did not reply. Not because I did not have a hundred insults
to come back with but because I was starting my silent
treatment against him.
"Ah." Mike said in realisation "You two are having a domestic
dispute."
"Dispute?" I mumbled to myself "I am going to kill him."
To keep my silent streak ongoing against the giant, I decided
to start a conversation with the old mechanic to distract
myself from the urge to talk to Stone.
"I like the colour of this place." I voiced, motioning to the
open door and the outside of the building "The green bricks
match my hair."
Mike's round face broke out into a grin as he delivered
amusedly "Stone painted it a few weeks ago."
If I had not sworn to give the large man, the silent treatment
then I would have asked him more about his choice of colour
to paint the building.
"Would I be able to take my car home today?" I spoke up
and asked.
"Of course." The old man said and then he smiled
mischievously when adding "Although I can't recall where I
put the keys. Stone was the one servicing it."
"Funny that." I sarcastically remarked, contemplating if I
should give both of them the silent treatment.
Grabbing a set of car keys that did not look like mine from
the table, Mike dramatically gasped and slapped his head "I
just remembered that I have to go and pick up something at
Manhattan Beach."
I let out a breath of frustration and pleaded "Can I please
get my car?"
"I’m really sorry, Ella." Mike answered unapologetically "It is
Stone that dealt with your car. I have a lot of other staff to
look after."
Fighting the urge to stamp my foot, I pointed accusingly and
huffed "You just said that he was your only employee."
"Oops." The traitor of the old man chuckled to himself as he
walked out the garage door.
"This is ridiculous." I mumbled to myself as I watched Mike
leave the two of us alone.
Stone appeared amused at the situation because the corner
of his lip hiked up.
My vow of silence against him lasted only a further thirty-
four seconds before I gave up.
"Give me the keys, Lurch." My voice raised as I grew more
agitated.
"No."
I took a step nearer to his huge frame and repeated "Give
them to me."
"No."
A frustrated sigh left me before I bit out "Why not?"
"I am not giving you the keys so you can go to that prick's
house." He gritted out, his jaw ticking violently "You can
keep me company here."
"Lucky me" I huffed in a sarcastic tone.
His lip twitched again as he removed his leather jacket from
his body, giving me a look at his muscled arms and tattoos
as he picked up a spanner.
"Give me the keys of the car or else." I threatened.
"Or what?" He challenged "Are you going to sit on me
again?"
"No." I affirmed, "That was meant to be a torture technique
and you seemed to not totally hate it."
He chuckled, shaking his head as he walked over to the
silver car next to my green one.
"Give me my keys, Lurch." I demanded again as I walked
over to him and grabbed an unknown tool from his toolbox
"Or I will take this tiny metal thing and cut you open. Then I
will scoop your insides out and mix them together to make
soup."
Stone ignored me as he opened the hood of the car he was
working on and started to mess around with the valves and
parts insides.
I tried to tear my gaze away from the veins bulging in his
arm and how the heat from the engine added a layer of
engine grease to his black ink.
The vehicle was not the only thing that was getting messed
around with inside because I could feel the fluttering of my
stomach at the sight of the engine grease on his bulky arms.
"Fine." I huffed out "I am just going to walk home."
Carrying on fixing the car, he never turned around to face
me as he retorted "No you won't."
"And why is that?" I asked the back of his head.
"It is at least an hour walk from here to your house." He
mentioned with a small, strained chuckle "For you, it will be
three hours with your little legs."
The irritating mountain had a point. I did hate unnecessary
exercise.
I glared at the back of his head while informing him "You
can't see me right now, but you should know I look furious."
"I don't need to turn around." His gruff voice spoke up
before explaining "I know you have transitioned from a
gizmo to a gremlin."
My eyes widened while I spluttered out "You are annoying!"
He finally turned around and looked down at me, his eyes
shining with amusement when he rebutted "You are
stubborn."
I tried to think of something else to say. I opened and closed
my mouth while I let my gaze roam him.
"You are...too big." I blurted out.
Stone chuckled at my lame response before rasping out  
"You are too head-strong."
We kept exchanging things we disliked about the other
person as we both subconsciously neared each other.
By the time, I was backed up against the car and he was
towering over me when I had run out of things to say.
I ended up making up something "You are a really bad
hugger."
That seemed to catch his attention because he cocked his
head to the side.
"Do you know in the book Of Mice and Men when Lenny
does not realise his strength and ends up embracing his pet
mouse too hard and it ends up being squished to death." I
referenced before pointing to myself "That is you when you
hugged me."
Stone moved an infinitesimally amount of distance between
us as his voice went hoarse "Really?"
I thought about the time when he embraced me. The day I
broke down in his arms. The warmth and the comfort made
it hard to even lie to myself.
"No." I whispered before clearing my throat "I guess your
hug was not the worst thing I have ever experienced."
The giant's mouth twitched twice.
I shook my head and tore my attention away from his face
and focused on the matter at hand which was getting Kermit
back.
"If I burst out crying then would you give me the keys?" I
asked hopefully, ready to pretend to shed a tear.
"Do not cry." Stone commanded.
"I will and you will have to deal with it." I threatened before
mentioning "I am a really ugly crier."
"No." He deeply said, sounding like an almost growl "You are
not."
I bit my lip to contain my smile.
I had to get out of the small space between us. If I stayed
and started to enjoy my time with him then he won. I could
not just let him drag me away and willingly stay with him.
The only way to get him to give me the keys was to annoy
him until he wanted to get rid of me.
I spotted a black radio on top of a workplace, so I skipped
over and jumped up to sit on the high counter.
Sitting next to the old speaker that looked straight out of the
eighties with a big antenna, I called over to Stone "Last
chance. Give me the keys or I will start singing at the top of
my lungs and it will make your ears bleed."
He looked up from the car and raised an eyebrow, a silent
way of telling me that nothing was going to make him
change his mind.
After a few attempts of hitting the right button on the forty-
year-old machine, I got it to start playing.
As soon as I heard the first line of the song, I swung my legs
in delight to the time of the music and started to sing loudly
enough that I could even hear how bad I was.
"Her name is Noelle. I have a dream about her. She rings my
bell."
Stone continued to stare at me, and he looked shocked at
how appalling I was at singing.
His judgement did not intrude my performance of Teenage
Dirtbag by Wheatus.
"I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby. Come with me
Friday, don't say maybe. I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby
like you."
He watched from the hood of the car. His eyes were on my
face as I sang and laughed through the lyrics. His gaze only
strayed when I started to shimmy my hips to the rhythm.
The song finished and silence hung in the air until
something miraculous happened.
Stone started howling with laughter. It was a deep rough
noise of amusement, but it made me feel a little proud of
myself that I had achieved the impossible.
"Stop laughing at my singing!" I pretended to be mad "I
have been practising to master that song for years. It is the
best song in existence."
He went back to fixing the car while I thought of other ways
to bedevil him.
His voice interrupted my scheming "You think Teenage
Dirtbag is the best song in existence?"
"In the afterlife, Beethoven is secretly asking himself why he
did not think of it." I joked before adding seriously "It is the
theme song of my life. Nothing says adolescent angst like
that song."
Stone shook his head and let out a chuckle "So you are
saying you are a teenage dirtbag?"
"Some people might say I am." I explained with a shrug
"Other people say I'm a goth or even a nerd. Personally, I
don't think I fit into a category. I transcend all stereotypes."
He did not offer a reply as he walked over to collect a
different tool to fix the car.
As he was preoccupied, I quickly ran to steal his most prized
possession. His leather jacket.
With it in my hand, I ran back to the countertop and hastily
put it on until the leather material wrapped around my body
thrice.
When he returned, he did not notice his lack of jacket.
"Let's make a trade." I called to the giant "My keys for your
jacket back."
His eyes did not shine the emotion that I expect them to.
Anger is not present in his look but rather what looked to be
a mixture of approval and awe. There was also something
else swirling around in his darkened gaze.
I grinned "I think it looks much better on me than you."
He flicked his attention over me again. It was slow and
deliberate, and it left heat in its path.
"I can't argue with that." He revealed gruffly.
"This will keep me nice and cosy when I walk home." I
mentioned as I wrapped the huge material around myself.
I blinked and he was in front of me. My slightly parted legs
dangling from the counter was enough room for him to step
in between them.
"You are not leaving."
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms to show my
resistance to him. The arms crossed only drew attention to
the largeness of the leather jacket and how it was too long
on my little arms.
Stone kept standing where he was as he used his arm to
wipe a bead of sweat forming on his head. The arm raised
meant that his shirt had risen at the bottom and given me a
quick peek at his abs.
My lip was held tightly by my teeth as I looked up to meet
his eye.
His attention was on my bitten lip as he let out a harsh
"Fuck."
One thing I had noticed about him was that he liked to
swear a lot. I felt the need to point it out "I am starting to
think that is your favourite word."
"It is not." He assured me before he smirked, "My favourite
word is a tie between Ella, Medusa and Drizella."
"Those are not words." I rolled my eyes "They are names.
My names which makes me suspect that they are not really
your favourite."
The bulky male eventually left and popped the small bubble
of closeness between us.
As he went back to fixing the car, I took out my phone and
noticed that Lana had tried to phone me.
I phoned her back before greeting her "Hello."
"Guess what I have bought for our girl's day tomorrow!" She
squealed excitedly.
"It better not be what I think it is." I groaned into the phone.
"Barbie movies!" She confirmed, "The DVDs were only a
dollar at the dollar store."
"No wonder." I taunted "Nobody would pay more than that."
"I would."
I let out a laugh "I know you would, you weirdo."
"Come to mine at nine tomorrow." She insisted "We have
five movies to get through."
"Nine in the morning?" I let out a whine "That is way too
early for a Saturday morning—"
"If you are not there by nine then I will eat all the gummy
bears I had bought for you."
I laughed at her before agreeing "Fine. I will be there."
We said our goodbyes before she hung up.
Stone made a deep noise that sounded a mix between a
cough and a gnarl, making me draw my attention away from
my phone to him.
He started to wipe something in the car with a cloth as he
questioned "What are you laughing at?"
A lightbulb went off in my head and a great plan had formed
in my mind.
I lied "I was just phoning my ride to ask them when they are
coming to get me."
Stone did not look convinced.
"You are not going to give me the keys, so I had to find
another way to get home."
He still did not seem convinced.
I added innocence to my tone when I told him "I will tell
Chase you said hi when he picks me up."
His reaction was instant. He slammed the boot of the car
with brute force before he stormed out of the room and
came back seconds later with a familiar set of keys.
I beamed in response that my plan had worked. My
victorious state dropped when he came marching up to me
with a sense of determination.
The keys hung from his hand at a height that was far too
high for me to grab.
"You take them, and you drive home." He spoke with a tone
that held no room for argument "You do not go with him."
"Okay." I agreed, reaching up to get the keys.
He remained to keep them out of reaching distance "You
better be going home."
"I promise." I said as he set the metal chain in my hand.
Jumping off the counter, I skipped away towards the exit of
the garage to taunt him about me winning.
As I reached the door, a deep voice stopped me "Medusa."
I turned around "Yes, Lurch?"
His expression was full of visible boastfulness as he revealed
"I finished fixing your car a few days ago."
"What?" I bit out, remembering how he told me it was not
ready two days ago.
He did not answer with words. It was just a big tantalising
smirk that taunted me.
I opened the car door as I questioned "Are you trying to say
that you fixed my car a few days ago and it was only today
that you are telling me?"
Stone nodded.
I exclaimed, "Why would you do that?"
Stone did not even acknowledge the question because he
remained silent.
"What was the point in that?" I demanded to know "It was
you that suffered for it. You had to take me to school almost
every day this week."
"Not today, I didn't." He said, his voice husky and strained.
"Why did you say it was not fixed after the ice cream
parlour? What was the point in the double bluff?" I ranted
out "Actually it is kind of a triple bluff because you told me
you fixed it then you said you had not."
He looked down at me with a soft look in his eyes as I
continued to ramble.
"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
"I needed you away from him, so I took you here." He
revealed with a rough sigh "I was planning to keep it for a
while longer."
"You are evil." I told him "How dare you keep my car away
from me. Thank the car gods that I don't have to ride to
school with you anymore."
I got into the car and put on my seatbelt to stop the impulse
to go and wring his neck.
He was still watching me when I rolled the window down on
my door and stuck my head out to see him.
"I was on the phone to Lana, by the way. Not Chase." I
informed him with an evil grin "There was no ride home."
The smugness had been wiped from his face as he shook his
head "Wicked girl."
I beeped the car horn I smirked at him.
When I turned back to the rear-view mirror was when I
noticed that I still had on his jacket.
With one last queenly wave out of the window, I motioned to
the new addition of my wardrobe "I am keeping your jacket
by the way."
"That is fine, Medusa." He replied before he pledged "I will
come and get it later."
"Yeah. Whatever." I stuck my tongue out at him before I
pushed down on the accelerator.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Two
The giant’s threat to come and get his jacket back was
forgotten by midnight.
I flicked through the television channels between scooping
up large spoonful’s of ice
cream into my mouth straight from the carton.
There was not a lot to watch at night, so I had settled for a
crime documentary.
During a commercial break was when I started to hear
noises. I lowered the volume and listened to the large
sounding footsteps.
I had expected my father's drunken stumbles it did not
sound like that.
When the sounds turned to a knock at the door, I slowly
walked up to the door and carefully opened it with caution.
Taking up all the space of the doorway with his wide
shoulders stood Stone.
I leaned against the doorframe as I crossed my arms over
my frog pyjamas, glaring at him "What are you doing here?"
His eyes flicked over me once before he chuckled "I told you
I would come back for my jacket."
"I didn't think you were serious!"
I realised my mistake. Stone was always serious. The
permanent scowl was evidence of that.
"It is twelve at night." I stated before instructing "Go home."
"No."
He did not move. Neither did he look like he was going to
budge any time soon so I stood to the side and let him in.
Leaving him in the living room, I made my way to my
bedroom to retrieve his jacket before returning through the
hall with it.
When I returned, I found the ginormous bulky man sprawled
across my couch.
"Make yourself at home." I said in a sarcastic tone before
joining him on the sofa.
The giant did not make room for me to sit down so I ended
up resting one of my legs on top of his.
My words were muffled by my full mouth of ice cream as I
held the carton out to him "Do you want some?"
He shook his head as he watched me shovel another large
spoonful of the mint choc chip content in my mouth.
"More for me then." I voiced before faking a shudder "I did
not want your cooties anyway."
Stone cocked his head, a small suggestive smirk making its
way onto his mouth.
I rolled my eyes and moved my head away so that he would
not see my blush.
The midnight visitor motioned to the television showing the
murder investigation before chuckling "This is grim to be
watching at night. Are you trying to get inspiration on how
to get rid of me?"
"Of course not." I said softly before laughing "I already have
a plan. That is why I let you in. My bathtub full of acid is
waiting for you."
He chuckled again before his attention drew to something
else. His dark eyes set on my mouth.
His hand reached up and neared my face. He flicked his
thumb over my bottom lip, rubbing at the spot of ice cream.
He then brought his thumb up to his mouth and sucked the
content that was once on my mouth.
The sound of my heartbeat was heard in my ears as I
quickly looked away from "I... I am going to change the
channel."
I switched the station over to one that was showing an alien
documentary. We watched the show quietly as I started to
relax further and further into the sofa until I had my head
near the sturdy shoulder.
"I wish I would see an alien." I said as I watched the man
who had seen one being interviewed on the television.
"Medusa, that guy is lying." Stone pointed out as he
switched his gaze from the show to me.
I sat back and looked up at him "How do you know that?"
"It is obvious."
My head went down as I stared at my hands and uttered
quietly "I can't really understand people's behaviour. I have
never been able to pick up on social cues. It took me to the
age of eight to learn how to point at something and
recognise what it was at the same time."
My brain worked differently from others. It was whimsical
and sometimes even irrational.
I did not just lose my mother a year ago. I lost a part of who
I was. I had learnt my behaviour from her. I had been told
since I was young that I copied my mother's mannerisms
and reactions and took them on as my own. I had learned
how to mask my lack of social skills by practising how my
mother treated people.
A year ago when I lost her, I had to learn more about who I
was as an individual. I had to learn who Ella was and how
she reacted to the world and others.
Stone's head tilted downwards as he gave me his undivided
attention.
"I can explain why aliens chose to abduct cows, but I
struggle to understand humans." I murmured with a small
laugh.
His mouth twitched as he moved his arm, so it was resting
on the cushion behind my head.
"Why do you think aliens abduct cows?" He asked.
"My theory is that they are testing for an animal to
genetically advance to defend their planet and eat all of
their enemies." I explained "The best animal to take is a
cow. Cows have four stomachs and that means they can eat
more people."
He kept quiet until he let out a rough laugh "You are wild,
Drizella Miller."
"I don't know if you have noticed but I am a little crazy."
"I know." He claimed nonchalantly "It is the only thing that is
not little about you."
I grabbed the pillow behind my back and threw it at his face.
"If I was an alien, I'd choose you to defend my planet." I
admitted.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." I confirmed "Look at the size of you! You definitely
have more than four stomachs to eat the enemies."
Stone's lip went up in a small smile as he shook his head
down at me again.
"Are you planning to go home anytime or are you planning
to sleep over?" I joked.
He sent me a lazy smirk before insisting "Pass the pillow
behind you."
"For what?"
"To sleep." He answered like it was the most obvious thing
ever.
"Excuse me?"
The colossal pain taking up all the room on my living room
seat laughed "I’m staying."
"No. You are not." I argued before muttering "Demanding
ass."
I never said anything more for a while because my eyes
were starting to flutter shut. I felt my head fall back onto his
shoulder before I jerked back up.
"Fine. You can sleep here." I yelled in frustration, giving up
"But you are on the sofa."
His smirk was too triumphant. Too aggravating.
"This does not mean I forgive you for keeping Kermit away
from me or for kidnapping me." I pointed at him accusingly
"I am only letting you stay because it is late. I don't want
you falling asleep while driving."
"Careful Medusa." He taunted "You are starting to sound like
you care about me."
"Pfft. No." I crossed my arms as I argued "I just don't want to
see that motorbike of yours damaged."
"Whatever you say." He replied, his voice teasing.
I walked over to the television and switched it off at the wall
before I turned back to face the sofa "Goodnight."
"Night Medusa."
"Don't let the bed bugs bite." I joked before walking away.
"Same goes for you." He rebutted, an underlying meaning to
his words "I hope nothing crawls into your bed."
"I don't mind bed bugs crawling into my bed." I replied as I
pressed the light switch "As long as it is not a large Lurch."
When I turned away and headed down the hall, the last
thing I heard was a husky whisper.
"I can't make any promises."
Racing off to my room, I feared I would stay up thinking
about him. The other thing that scared me was that I had
purposely left my bedroom door open.
I lay on my bed for a while. I rolled around until the sheets
became wrinkled.
The dark ceiling was the thing I focused on as I tried not to
think about the occupant of the room down the hall.
Letting out a groan, I pulled the duvet covers back and
quickly yet quietly tiptoed through back to him.
It was dark but I could see the huge outline of him on the
sofa. He took up the whole space and I figured that it could
not have been comfortable.
His large body made everything look small in comparison.
He made all my furniture look like it was made for children.
Like I was a few minutes ago, Stone was staring up at the
ceiling deep in thought.
That was until his gravelly voice called from the darkness
"Medusa, I know you are there."
I could not even see his face, but I knew he was smirking. It
was clear from his voice.
"Have you ever seen the structure of The Great Wall of
China?" I called to him.
He hummed a deep rough noise "What about it?"
"We are going to build it out of pillows." I told him "You are
going to stay on your side of the bed, and I will stay on
mine."
Stone got up in a haste from the sofa.
I turned on my foot and marched down the hall. He followed
instantly and was quick on my heel. He walked so near
behind me that I feared if I stopped, he would collide into
my back and run me over.
Grabbing the pillows, I built a significantly tall wall in the
middle of the mattress.
The pillows took up a little room on the bed. It was the large
giant that took up all the space with his wide shoulders.
I turned on my side and closed my eyes until I heard a
noise.
The sound of metal from a belt and then something hitting
the floor broke the silence.
"What was that?" I asked, my voice quiet and nervous.
"My jeans." The deep voice replied.
"So, what do you have on now?" I questioned, warily.
"Nothing."
I blurted out "What!"
"Relax, Medusa." He chuckled "I still have my boxers on."
Turning around, I faced the wall of pillows and noticed that
they were shaking slightly. It was like a mini earthquake.
The next thing I knew, one of the pillows flew across the
room and hit the wall. . A layer of the wall had been
destroyed.
The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was a grumble.
A deep grumble enunciated the words "Fucking pillow wall."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Three
I let out a moan.
My eyes opened and the deja-vu took over. My face was
planted on a rock-hard chest meanwhile my legs were at
each side of the humongous bed snatcher.
Stone's vice-like arm was wrapped around my waist tightly
as if he was planning to keep my stomach glued to his chest
forever.
My hands rested on his torso as I tried to pull myself away
from the trap of his arms. It was no use as I kept on moving
up and down and nothing happened. Nothing except a
monster-sized something poking at my thigh.
I told myself over and over again in my head not to look
further down than his abs as I tried to tickle his arm so he
would let go.
The man below me took a deep breath and release it slowly.
"You are not going anywhere, Medusa Baby." He whispered,
his gravelly voice rough near the top of my head.
Before I could question his awakeness, he moved.
Two of his arms moved so that one was set firmly across my
back. The other thick muscular forearm rested just under
my butt as he applied pressure. A wonderful amount of
pressure.
He made a feel-good groan as he buried his face into the
crook of my neck.
I went still. I was too stunned to move. Then I felt myself
smile as I realised something. Stone was a cuddler.
"You are a cuddler." I said aloud.
"No." He grumbled into my neck.
"Yes. You are." I teased him.
He chuckled quietly after a moment of silence "Just with
you."
"What a privilege." I joked as I tried to push the boulder off
me.
When he eventually pulled away from the crook of my neck,
he sat up and rested his head on the headboard. While
doing this, he still did not let go of my body.
His hair was a little messed up, but it looked good. A stand
fell on his face and nearly reached his dark eyes that were
studying me intently.
I moved one leg off him, so I was no longer on top of him.
This made his jaw tick once.
"What are you looking at, Lurch?" I teased as I crossed my
legs while staying near him. I then noticed the lack of
pillows "How did I end up on top of you? What happened to
The Great Wall of China?"
"Maybe it just fell down."
My attention went to the pillows on the floor at his side that
looked like they had been bashed.
"Oh yeah?" I asked, scowling "It just fell down? Then what?
Did a ghost decide to take the fallen pillows and place them
at your side of the bed?"
"A ghost would explain the sounds." Stone rebutted with a
smirk "All through the night, I heard little snores."
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes before I glared at him "I
do not snore."
"It was more moans than snores." He informed "It was small
whimpers, and you were saying a name. I think someone
was dreaming of me."
"No, I wasn't!"
He hummed in a cocky manner.
"I was probably dreaming of a landslide." I pretended to put
my hands up like there was actually a landslide occurring
before I pretended to call "Stone! Stone!"
His head went back against the headboard as he let out a
rough laugh, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
A hint of a smile made its way onto his face. It was the first
proper smile I had seen from him.
"I should have let you drive home."
His deep laugh was all husky, and I made a mental note that
his voice in the morning was even more darkly sensuous
than normal.
I continued to glare at him "I should have sent you on your
merry way home. It was a way to get rid of you and steal
your bike after you died. I get the bike and rid of you. Two
birds and one stone."
Stone chuckled again before he looked around the room "I
am here so often that I might as well move in."
"That is a cruel thing to even make me think about." I said,
crossing my arms.
My instincts fought against my conscience. It was a battle
not to let my eyes wander downwards. In the end, my
instincts won, and I let my gaze travel downwards.
I gasped at what I saw.
There was a massive red cut crossing the left-hand side of
his abdomen. I reached out and let my finger trail near the
cut and the redness that it caused.
"How did this happen?" I asked as I looked up to find Stone
staring at me.
"A knife."
I went back to checking the cut while I questioned "When
did it happen?"
"Last night." He replied gruffly.
I got up from the bed and quickly made my way through to
the bathroom. After finding what I needed from the cabinet
under the sink, I came back through to him.
Leathering my hand in the antiseptic cream, I applied it
evenly to his cut. I then wrapped it up, so it did not become
infected.
During my cream application, I had happened to have
moved one of my legs to the other side of him so I could get
better access to his cut. It meant that I was straddling him.
"You do not get hurt again." I scolded before I cleared my
throat and motioned downwards "I am not doing this again."
Stone looked to be in a trace as he continued to study me
unfalteringly as he rasped out "My little nurse."
I rolled my eyes before warning "Next time, look after your
cuts yourself."
"No." He argued before his voice went to demanding "I need
you to kiss it better."
His tone was smug like he was enjoying it all too much
I wanted to shock him. I wanted to shut him up, so I leaned
down and left a small kiss right above the bandaged area.
The mouth of the giant twitched as he rumbled "You are so
fucking cute."
I flipped him off because of his teasing before I began to try
and get off him.
He stopped me by clutching my hips in his large hands.
"Can I help you, Lurch?" I tilted my head at him.
"I have a cut on my lip too."
I hummed "I don't see anything."
He smirked as he reached up and held my face in one of his
hands. His thumb flicked over my lip before touching my
cheek and then moving a hair behind my ear.
My cheeks felt on fire, so I blurted out "I don't blush!"
His smirk grew "I never said you did, Medusa."
Rearranging his arms so that they rested behind his head,
he grinned evilly. His pose was full of cockiness, and it
looked like something straight out of a portrait.
Someone should make a statue of him. He was ethereally
attractive, and his face was like a stoic statue with no
emotion most of the time anyway.
It perplexed me how much I wanted to sit back and analyse
him. I wanted to know all the things that ticked him off, that
made him mad, that pushed him over the edge. I also
wanted to know all the things that made him happy and that
made him laugh. I wanted to know what thoughts went
through his head.
Like any interesting book, you needed to read all of it to
understand the full story. I was reminded then that I did not
even know the title.
"You still haven't told me your first name." I pointed out,
curiosity bubbling out of me.
"No, I haven't."
Crossing my arms, I sighed in frustration "Are you seriously
not going to tell me?"
He nodded.
I mentioned to him "You know my name."
"That is because you told me it." The nameless Titan tried to
argue.
"I didn’t tell you, my name." I argued, "Your little ally of a
boss forced it out of me."
Stone did not try and deny it. Rather, he still refused to tell
me his name.
"Your name can not be any worse than mine." I voiced
before adding an exception "Unless it is something like
Balthazar."
"Balthazar?" He repeated.
Stretching my arms and letting out a yawn, I replied
"Actually thinking about it, Balthazar is a pretty cool name.
It sounds like some kind of fantasy antagonist. Evil like you."
"My name is not Balthazar."
"That is a pity" I admitted, standing up from my bed "I will
just call you Rumpelstiltskin."
"Who?"
"You know the little guy from that fairytale. The only thing
wrong with my analogy is that you are gigantic. The name
thing however is accurate." I mentioned.
"I have not heard that story." The deep voice replied.
"Rumpelstiltskin was the guy who helped the liar of the
princess convince everyone that she could turn straw into
gold. Long story short, she promised the little creature who
she did not know the name of, that if he helped her then she
would give him her first born. Unless she could guess his
name in three days then she could keep her baby."
He nodded "Let's do it then."
I looked down at him with baffled as he lay on my bed
"What do you mean? I'm not giving you my firstborn."
Something that he was thinking about made his lip move
upwards. It was like he was trying to contain a smile.
Stone shook the thought out of his and clarified for me "I'll
give you three days to try and guess my name."
"What happens if I can't guess it?"
He answered, "Then you kiss me."
I burst out laughing but then I saw his face. It was as serious
as a volcanic explosion taking out a village.
My mouth opened then closed as I finally spoke "You are
serious?"
"Deadly."
Memories of our last kiss resurfaced. I still felt his touch on
my skin and his lips devouring my mouth. It would be the
biggest lie in the world if I told myself that I did not want it
to happen again and again and again.
I wanted it to happen an infinite number of times and that
thought alone was terrifying.
I did not want to let him know that I was replaying the scene
of us on the beach so I sarcastically utter "I am not that
desperate to know your name."
Before I could even think to praise myself for covering up
how mystified I was by him, he was in front of me.
I unconsciously moved nearer because being close to him
was not close enough. We were in a stance that from an
outsider’s point of view might look like a face-off. I knew
better. I knew he was waiting.
Like a predatory animal, he waited before attacking.
His hands pounced on my waist before he placed me down
on the bed, climbing on top of me.
I was suddenly aware of his lack of clothes and my exposed
stomach from the rising tank top.
He moved until he lingered at the side of my face, the hot
air for his mouth tickled my neck "Guess my name."
I met his eye, wondering how I was supposed to guess when
I could not even think straight.
"James?" I guessed.
He did not look like a James, but I could hardly come up with
an educated guess when my mind was preoccupied with
other thoughts.
Stone's head moved up ever so slightly so that his words
ran along my ear "Try again."
I tried to come up with something better, but I suddenly
forgot all names in existence when he took my earlobe
softly between his teeth.
I tried to guess again "Tom?"
Moving slowly, his lips became adjacent to mine. His eyes
had darkened as he let his mouth trail to the side of mine "I
am starting to think that you want to kiss me."
My answer was my racing heartbeat. It was also my fingers
twitching to destroy the gap between us.
My attempts were getting worse as I asked "David?"
The man on top of me growled.
I closed my eyes at the nearness, and I gently laughed
"What are you growling at?"
"I do not like other names that are not mine leaving your
mouth."
Sitting up slightly, I grazed his ear with my lip "Then tell me
your name."
He shook his head, determinedly "I am getting that kiss,
Medusa."
My laugh was near his jaw as I felt his stubble rub against
my lip "Someone told me that a kiss from Medusa turns one
to statue."
His head tilted downwards, and his lip brushed my nose
when he spoke gravelly "It is a good thing I am already
Stone."
Another name did not leave my mouth. Neither did a smart
comeback. I could not even dispute that I had three days to
find out his name.
The way he was looking at me at that moment was the only
thing I could seem to think about.
A loud noise made me jump away from him.
Stone did not move. He just continued to observe me.
I broke eye contact and listened to the noise again.
When it happened for the second time, I jogged out of the
room and into the hall. Somebody was at the door.
"Who could that be?" I mumbled to myself.
Another knock came from the door along with a familiar
female voice shouting.
"Ella! Are you still sleeping, or have you just decided to
ditch me?" She asked then she huffed "Knowing the lazy
person you are, I am going to say the first option"
I had forgotten that I was supposed to meet Lana.
I let out a curse when I noticed that Stone had followed me
through to the hall. Out of panic, I charged at him and tried
my best to push him back to my room.
After a while of him not moving and me just feeling his
chest, he let me drag him to my room.
"It is Lana." I whispered "I was meant to meet her. Oh my
god. What time is it?"
"Just after ten."
"I was meant to meet her at nine. I have to go and get the
door." I groaned before urging him "You need to hide. She
can’t see you."
"Why not?" He asked, finding the situation highly amusing.
My head tilted down towards the black material covering
very little of his large self.
"You know why." I tried to yell quietly "Hide under the bed!"
He chuckled "I am not hiding under your bed."
"I guess you are too big." I said, more to myself before I told
ordered him "Stay here."
I was out of breath by the time I had opened the door to the
impatient blonde who was waiting at the doorway.
She pointed to my pyjamas and frowned "I can't believe you
forgot about our movie day."
"I am so sorry. I did not forget about it." I told her as I let her
into the apartment "I just slept in"
I purposely left out the part about being trapped by a pair of
massive arms.
Lana looked around the place for something and when she
could find what she was looking for, she raised an eyebrow
"You are acting weird."
"Am I?"
"Yeah." She replied, her voice full of inquisitiveness.
I apologised and tried to draw the attention away from my
supposed weirdness "Sorry. I’m probably just tired. What did
you expect when you said to meet at nine? It is the
weekend, and this is an ungodly hour to be up. The only
reason i said yes was because I love you. On that note, I will
go and get changed right now."
Running away from her before she could say anything else, I
slammed my bedroom door behind me.
Stone looked up from where he was sitting at the bottom of
my bed. He now had on jeans, but he had not covered his
tattoo-covered eight pack and his exposed wide shoulders.
A wave of realisation hit me. I had said to Lana that I was
getting changed. She was waiting in the hall, and he was in
my room. He could not leave the room
I released a sigh and thought about it. I had on a bra and
panties. It was not like I was nude, and he was facing the
wall, so I decided to remove my tank top and my shorts.
When I opened my wardrobe to grab some clothes was
when Stone lifted his head and stopped cold.
His eyes ran over me for a second, darkness taking over his
irises as he did so. The second seemed to drag on until he
let out a rough curse and turned the other way.
"Fuck, Ella." He practically bellowed.
I did not know what had gotten him so riled up. It was not
like I was naked. The dark green lace had covered up
everything.
"My bikini covers less." I mentioned as I slipped on a shirt
"You have seen me in less at the beach."
Stone grumbled under his breath "Because I handled that so
fucking well."
After I slid up my jeans, I sighed "You need to stay here until
I leave."
"Why is that?" He stood up and made his way over to me.
"She would get the wrong idea." I replied as he towered over
me.
"What idea would that be?"
"You know exactly what idea I am taking about." I spoke up
from my level at his chest.
Surprisingly, he did not argue or tease any further. He
instead asked, "Why did you not ask Brennan and I to
come?"
The idea of inviting him had crossed my mind but then I
remembered my conversation with Lana about her
relationship. We had not had a chance to talk. Just her and I.
His voice had been teasing but I answered him truthfully
"Because it is a girl's day."
As I sat down to put my shoes on, Lana shouted from the
other side of the door "Ella! Hurry up!"
"Just wait two minutes after we are gone to leave so she
does not see you" I muttered to him before turning to leave
Stone half laughed and half grunted, "Maybe I will go get
Brennan and come give you a visit."
I fell for his threat and harshly hissed "Don't you dare,
Lurch."
Before he could say anything, Lana called again "What is
taking you so long? I know you take a while to get changed
but this long? Really?"
Giving him a last glance, I opened the door and left him in
my room.
Lana had her arms crossed when I reached her at the front
door. She looked behind me "Who were you talking to? I
thought I heard voices."
"Singing." I blurted out "I was singing."
"I thought I heard a deep voice." Lana raised her light brow.
"I was practising my Darth Vader impression." I lied
She did not look convinced, but she did not say anything
other than "Okay. Let's go."
We took my car to drive to her house. My lateness was
quickly forgiven as Lana told me all about her outing with
Brennan. She also mentioned the new music she had been
working on.
I wanted to tell her about Stone and my encounters with
him, but I did not want to load more problems onto her. Not
when she was facing difficulties in her relationship.
When we arrived at her house, we rushed inside and got our
binge-worthy banquet ready before putting on a Barbie
DVD.
"So, Brennan and I talk fine when it is all four of us together.
We always have something to talk about when we are with
other people. Like we talk about you and Stone and school
in general. However, when we are alone, it is so different.
When it is just us, sometimes we sit in silence." Lana
explained as she stuffed a handful of gummy bears in her
mouth.
I was sitting crossed leg on her living room sofa as I tried to
steal one from the bag, she was trying to keep to herself as I
replied, "Is it a comfortable silence?"
"I don't know." She admitted.
We had been talking about Brennan and her for about an
hour. I knew something was wrong when she didn't hum
along to the intro music to the animated Barbie movie. I did
not sing to it either because I was still trying to convince her
that I hated it when secretly I liked the movies.
I was also pondering over my thoughts about my overnight
visitor. I was trying to focus on the whimsical fairyland and
bright pink dresses but found myself thinking about the
giant. I wondered if he had snooped around the place after I
left or if he left as soon as I did.
Lana rearranged herself restlessly on the sofa like she had
been for the past hour as she let out a huff "Do you think he
is bored of me?"
"I'm not a boy expert," I stated before giving her a
confidence boost "but I can tell that Brennan really likes
you. Anyone can see that"
She thinks for a minute before questioning "What if he
doesn't want to be in a relationship?"
Shaking my head, I told her "These are questions that I can't
answer. The only person that can is Brennan. There is no
point of us to sit here and wonder what is going on in a
guy's mind. Males are complex species. I don't think they
even know what is going on in their mind. Although, I can’t
say girls are any better."
"That is not very helpful." She informed me.
"Sorry." I said, "As I said I am not exactly the most qualified
to give dating advice."
Biting another gummy bear head off, she frowned in
disagreement "You went out with Chase."
I rolled my eyes and feel the need to justify myself "I never
officially dated Chase. Now we are just friends. We get on
good."
"Friends like you and Stone?"
"No." I affirmed instantly "Stone is different."
My reply lit up her entire face and she sings her next
question "And why is that?"
It was nothing I could put into words, so I ended up
responding with "I don't know."
"Maybe it is because you are actually attracted to Stone."
Trying to sound persuasive, I failed by sputtering my next
words "I am not attracted to Lurch."
She hummed, unconvinced.
I moved the conversation on "Anyway back to you, are you
going to ask Brennan about your relationship?"
"What am I going to do?" She whined "Write him a letter
saying Do you still like me? Check yes, or no?"
"Don't do that."
She shoved five gummy bears in her mouth "Do you have a
better idea?"
My imagination and train of thought were so weird that I
surprised myself with the solution
I smiled at her "I have a great new theory that will test if
you are on his mind."
"Your theories are always so random but okay..." She trailed
off, sceptical.
"The Gummy Bear Theory." I announced like it was a big
scientific discovery. Watching her munch the little bear-
shaped candies and offer me a weird look, I described my
new philosophy "So you ask him the question; if you are in a
car driving really fast and you see me standing with two
gummy bears on the road, one red and one purple. You
realise that you can’t brake and that you can only avoid
hitting one thing, who would you pick to save and why?"
She usually looked at me like I was an oddball but now she
was gawking at me like I was from a different planet.
While still bug-eyed, she replied "That question is the most
random thing I have ever heard.
"Just answer it"
Lana did after a second of thinking "I like the purple bears
better so I would save the purple one."
"There you go." I pointed to her "This theory proves your
deduction skills and how much you are thinking about the
person. I said you see me standing with two gummy bears
on the road, one red and one purple so that means you are
in the equation too. If the person you are asking is really
thinking about you then they will pick up on the me part.
The correct answer is to say I would save you over anyone."
Giggling, she remained to look at me like I was crazy "That
is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I am going to ask
him that the next time I see him just to prove you wrong."
I was about to explain it further, but I was interrupted by her
mom walking down the stairs with a load of laundry.
Mrs Armstrong greeted us with a smile "Hello Ella. I feel like
I have not seen you in forever. How have you been?"
"I'm good." I said, returning her smile.
"What are you girls talking about?" Mrs Armstrong asked us.
"Boys." Lana replied.
Mrs Armstrong laughed as she walked to the kitchen. She
stopped right at the door and turns around, remembering
something.
She grinned "Taking about boys, your ones are outside right
now."
The idea of a girl's day was thrown to the wind.
Lana walked over to the window and confirmed that both
boys were indeed outside.
I motioned for her to come back "Just ignore them. They will
go away eventually."
She shook her head in disagreement and went over to the
door "How did they even know we were here together?"
I joined her at the door and contemplate chasing Lurch
down the street.
Rather than tell her the truth, I lied "I am telling you that
those two boys are secret agents. Have you seen the
muscles on them two? Especially Stone."
A voice I instantly recognised as Brennan's came from
outside, behind the front door "Thank you, Ella. As much as
we love you complementing us, can you let us inside?"
I managed to hold my laughter back as I called to the two
intruders "Nobody is home. We have gone out. Try again
later."
"Really? So, who are we talking to right now?" Stone asked
sounding amused at my stupidity.
"A figment of your imagination?" I replied.
Brennan chuckled and retorted "That actually sounds about
right, Little Ella."
Lana sighed and opened the door. The two males were
grinning smugly. Brennan gave her a small hug while
crossed my arms and glared up at Stone.
The giant sauntered over to me and spoke deeply yet
quietly so the other two could not hear "I told you I would
pay you a visit."
"What a treat." I deadpanned and walked away back to my
seat.
The three of them followed. The two lovebirds went and sat
on the sofa opposite. That left the only place for Stone to sit
was next to me. With room for at least three people, he
settled right next to me so that our legs were touching.
Never mind my leg, every cell in my whole body was aware
of the contact.
As soon as the characters on the screen broke out into song,
Lana's eyes were glued to the screen and Brennan looked to
be trying to enjoy the movie for her sake.
However, Stone's gaze was fixated on me. I side glanced at
him and saw him smirking in my peripheral vision.
I turned my head to ask, "What are you staring at?"
He looked like he wanted to say something but whatever it
was, he swallowed down and asked instead "Do you like
Barbie films?"
Offering him a small smile, I nodded once "They are okay.
Lana loves them and I love Lana. I have watched them so
many times that they just seem like the normal to watch on
a Saturday."
It went silent between us until I spoke again "There is no
point asking you if you enjoy them"
Stone laughed He knew fair well that his scary appearance
and his no emotion attitude did not exactly scream pink
princesses and magical castles
He questioned anyway "Why not?"
I explained, "Because last time I asked you, you just grunted
and did not even answer me."
"When?" He demanded to know.
"When we first met." I answered before reminiscing "The
night at the pier feels like forever ago."
He nodded, his lips up in a small smile "It is hard to
remember a time I was not getting insulted daily by a tiny
green gorgon. I can’t image a day without your nerdy
insults."
"That sounds like you are trying to make me the bad guy. Do
not act like you do not give just as bad as you get." I pointed
out while I ate a gummy bear "I can’t imagine not knowing
being insulted daily by you either. Who else would insult my
green hair? Although you are still kind of a stranger now."
Looking a bit taken aback, he raised an eyebrow "Why do
you say that?"
"I don't even know your name." I pouted up at him.
Stone's dark eyes lowered to look at my lips before he
rasped "That is because you haven't guessed it yet."
"I still have three days." I pointed out.
"Why do you want to know so bad?" He teased, already
knowing that I was extremely curious
My excuse was pretty lame, but it made sense "You know
my name. I feel like you are one-up on me on the Ella and
Stone scoreboard. Which will soon be changed to the Ella
and whatever-your-stupid-first-name is scoreboard."
"You are determined," He stated in his deep voice "but you
won't guess it."
"Yes, I will." I declared persistently which did not make his
smug face falter so I resolved to another tactic "I will
because there is no way I am kissing you again."
He smirked before leaning closer "And why is that Medusa?"
"Because...Because I don't want to." I ended up saying as I
crossed my arms over my chest.
The gravelly sounding male spoke "Little liar."
I came up with a different answer "Acqenemies do not kiss.
It is a rule. Everyone knows that."
"Bullshit." Stone called me lit "Acqenemies is an Ella term.
There are no rules."
"Yes, there is." I told him while restraining myself from
moving closer "No kissing."
"Are you saying that you are backing out of our deal? He
asked, his tone full of dark menacing.
"I am not a quitter, Lurch." I argued "If that is what you are
suggesting. I am going to find out your name."
His next words rolled off his tongue and I wondered if he
meant for them to be so seductive.
"Then guess." He said.
As I was about to say a name, I was stopped by his hand
going down to my leg. His fingers trailed from my knees up
to my thigh. He stopped abruptly then began to draw circles
on my leg. Even with material between his touch and my
skin, his hand sets the lower half of me on fire.
It was unfair. There was no way of guessing his name when I
could barely remember my own. Not with him touching me.
"Giving up already, Medusa?"
Incapable of putting a sentence together, I tried the name
"Noah?"
He responded lowly and huskily "No."
Thinking about every name I knew; I blurted out a few
"Liam? Mason? Ethan?"
Stone just shook his head and continues to move his finger
along my leg.
Attempting to ignore it and trying to seem unfazed, I quietly
asked more names "How about John?"
"Your guesses are getting worse."
"George?" I guessed as a joke "Paul? Ringo?"
He chuckled "Now you are just naming members of The
Beatles."
"I know," I admitted "but I am running out of names. I think
out of all the names I have said so far, Rumpelstiltskin fits
you the most."
When Brennan coughed, I instantly reached forward for
another gummy bear which made forced Stone's hand off
my leg.
I did not think Brennan had seen us because he did not
mention our contact and instead asked "So what made you
want to have a girl’s day?"
Lana looked at him and asked, "Do I need an excuse to
spend time with Ella?"
At that, the guy next to me whispered tauntingly in my ear
"She does not need an excuse. I just do not see why she
would want to."
"Says the guy that came willingly to my house yesterday." I
rejoinder in a low voice as I grinned up at him.
His lip twitched twice as he moved his hand over his jaw "I
have a warped taste."
I nudged him with my elbow.
Lana spoke aloud and retold everyone about my lateness
that morning "Ella slept in this morning so I went over to her
place to go and get her. She took another thirty minutes to
get dressed."
Brennan grinned "Maybe she has an imaginary friend that
made her take so long."
I did not need to be a rocket scientist to know what he was
trying to secretly suggest.
"Yeah." I said, putting fake sarcasm into my voice even
though what I said was true "That is what it was. My
imaginary friend is a massive pain in the ass and that is why
it took so long for me to get changed."
Lana shook her head "Ella's head is always in the clouds.
She is too busy thinking up crazy theories or dreaming
about different dimensions. That is why she is slow at
everything. She is too busy somewhere else."
She had a point.
Her voice filled the room again "Talking about theories and
craziness. Ella, I think you should test your ludicrous theory."
"You are going to have to narrow that down. I have made a
lot of theories over the years."
She motioned down to the bag of gummy bears. The
Gummy Bear Theory was a perfectly valid one. I just had to
prove that.
I turned to Stone and asked him "If you were driving a car
down a road really fast and you see me with two gummy
bears on the road, one purple and one red. Then you realise
that your brake is not working, and you can only avoid
hitting one thing, who would you save?"
He chuckled, shaking his head as he peered down at me. His
reply came out in one breath "I would save you, crazy girl."
Lana was staring at me with wide eyes before she praised
me "Your theory actually works."
I crossed my arms and shook my head.
Stone just picked up on the me part of the theory because
he was perceptive.
"No. It does not." I burst out with "There is no logic to my
theory. I was just making random stuff up."
I shot a dirty look at Stone. Who did he think he was, getting
my theories right?
After an hour of the fairy film and cheesy music which I had
to say was fun, the movie ended. I had never seen two
males look so bored in their life.
Brennan spoke up as the credits rolled "So my mom is
inviting you to dinner tomorrow night."
"Really?" Lana said, excitedly.
"That is a big step." I teased her "Meeting the in-laws. You
better not mess it up."
Brennan laughed “That is okay, Little Ella. You will be there
to keep her in line."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Stone told mom that you are coming too." He informed me,
nonchalantly.
"He did what?" I erupted before turning to the giant and
asking him "Why did you you say that I was going? What if I
had plans?"
He challenged “What are your plans then? Sitting on your
bed and reading a book?"
"Yes."
"Nerd." He taunted, chuckling to himself.
Lana put her hands together and pretended to beg "Please,
Ella."
"My momma makes a mean barbecue chicken and rice."
Brennan tried to lure me in.
"Keep talking."
"She makes her own mint chocolate chip ice cream." Stone
added, knowing that it was my favourite.
It was quite scary that he knew me so well. It was scary how
that fact alone made my stomach flutter.
Stone had won me around, but I tried to play it cool.
"I just remembered that I have a clear diary. I can make it." I
told him with a small shrug.
"Thought you might." A deep rough voice inputted.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Four
"Why do I have to knock?" Lana complained while stalling
outside the address that had Brennan sent us.
She looked extremely pale. Maybe because it was dark at
night or maybe it was because she was scared to meet his
parents.
"You have to knock because it is your boyfriend's house." I
replied before adding "I'm just your plus one."
Nodding understandably, she muttered "What if they don't
like me?"
Surprised at her frantic state, I told her "It is impossible to
hate you, Lana. They are going to love you. Brennan has
probably been telling them how great you are."
Nodding her head again, she finally plucked up the courage
to knock.
The house was quite large and modern. I did not know what
I was expecting but I thought that it would be closer to the
sea, knowing how much both boys spent most of their time
at the beach. However, the building was not close to the sea
and instead situated on a hill.
As we waited outside, Lana tapped her feet as she turned to
me and asked, "I was meant to ask you last night on the
phone you were all stressed, why?"
"I could not find my Edgar Allan Poe book." I huffed "It is my
favourite, and I can't find it."
From inside the house, I heard footsteps approach the door.
That is when I started to feel my heartbeat hammer.
I wondered if his parents were going to like me.
Before we had arrived at the house, Lana video called
asking me what to wear. That is when I panicked too
because nothing in my wardrobe was appropriate for a
dinner party. Lana instructed me not to wear any skulls or
anything that looked like it belonged in a cult or a band tee.
Her input pretty much eliminated every piece of clothing
that I owned. I had to go hunting to the very back of my
closet to find a plain black silk tank top.
"The girls are here!" The female voice screamed from inside
and she sounded elated.
I thought Lana was about to turn around and say something
to me but before she could, the door opened.
There stood a woman with the warmest smile I had ever
seen. She was a large lady with her arms in the air,
enthusiastically. Her round body looked ready to embrace
both of us in a hug.
Lana seemed to relax at the sight of Brennan's mother, and
I could tell she thought the same about the woman.
"Come in! Come in!" The friendly middle-aged lady gestured
for us to come inside "This is so exciting. I have been telling
the boys for weeks now to invite you."
As soon as we had one foot in the door, Brennan's mother
was already embracing Lana in a hug while gushing "It’s so
nice to finally meet you."
My smothered friend let out a small giggle while pulling
away to show off her smile "It is so great to meet you too,
Mrs Lewis."
"You are a lovely girl." The woman said back, her twinge of
an accent strong as she admired both of us.
Lana remembered that I was there also she motioned to me
"This is—"
Mrs Lewis cut her off immediately by moving on from Lana
to me as she blurted out enthusiastically "Ella!"
Instantly wrapping my arms around the woman to greet her
back, I replied "Thank you so much for having us for dinner."
She pulled back and took my face in her hands and she
studied me thoroughly. Her smile was bright and hopeful as
she squished my cheeks.
I had thought about how I would die a little, but I never
expected that the cause would be squashed to death by Mrs
Lewis.
"I have heard so much about you, Ella."
The flashbacks started to occur and every single insult that I
had ever said to Stone ran through my head.
"Oh no." I let out a small nervous laugh "All bad I presume."
Shaking her head violently but still with a smile on her face,
she replied "No. It is completely the opposite."
Looking around his house, I noticed a few pictures on the
wall. I made a mental note to try and sneak through to find
an ugly picture of the giant.
On second thought, that seemed unlikely. I could not
imagine him being anything else but captivating.
Already shuffling down the hall, Mrs Lewis shouted in her
happy voice "Boys! Come downstairs! Your girls are here."
As we followed behind her, Lana turned to me and pointed
out "You do realise that you are going to have to try and be
nice to Stone."
I wanted to refuse and tell her that it was impossible. It was
not that I ever was intentionally mean to him. It was just
part of our weird dynamic and I secretly liked it that way.
Although I did have to try make an effort in front of his
parents so keeping that in mind, I sighed "This is going to be
one of the hardest things I ever have to do."
We entered the kitchen and found Mrs Lewis stirring
something in a massive pot while talking to a man.
The man looked exactly like Brennan. Just older. He was also
helping to prepare the food when he spotted the us both
standing at the doorway. His warm smile was just like his
wife's as he walked over to us.
"Hello girls. How are you?" He asked.
Lana was quick to reply "We’re really good, Mr Lewis. How
are you?"
"Better now that both of you are here." Mr Lewis expressed
to us before focusing more on me as he added "I have been
wanting to meet the girl who keeps our Stone on his toes."
I had no idea what to say to but thankfully I did not have to
reply because the boys chose then to walk in.
My gaze went straight to Stone. More accurately his
stomach as it was at my eye level. I then looked up and met
his eye.
Brennan circled his arms around Lana and gave her a quick
peck on the cheek while I paid no attention to them and
instead glared at Stone.
The glare was for no particular reason. I was trying to get all
of my death glares out of my system before I pretended to
be nice to him in front of the Lewis'.
"Medusa." The gravelly voice spoke as he took a step
towards me.
"L—" I began to say his nickname but then remembered
that we had an audience, so I covered it up by instead
saying "Lovely to see you, Stone."
Mrs Lewis' laugh filled the kitchen as she skipped over to me
and took my face in her hands again.
She squashed my face between her palms as she spoke to
Stone "Stone, she is gorgeous."
I was glad that her hands covered my reddened face.
The straightforward woman pulled back and smiled "Boys,
go and show the girls to their seat in the dining room. The
food is nearly ready."
Brennan led the way in front of us to the dining room which
was down the hall. Lana stayed beside him. Meanwhile,
Stone held back with me.
I tilted my upwards so I could study him. His face was stoic,
yet I could see the amusement in him. His obsidian irises
sparked with light.
The trick to finding out what Stone was thinking was to look
into his eyes. I always looked to his eyes first as it was a
rare occasion when he gave away his emotion on the rest of
his face.
"What do you look so smug about?" I questioned before
sighing "I have only been here two minutes and I am
already getting sick of trying to be somewhat nice to you. It
is exhausting."
He raised an eyebrow at the last part of my sentence "You
are trying to be nice? Is that what that was back there?"
"What?"
Stone tried to lessen the roughness of his voice but failed as
he tried to imitate me "Lovely to see you, Stone."
"I do not sound like that!" I exclaimed before mentioning
"Just so you know that saying those words actually
physically hurt me to say."
The giant bends down so he is nearer the top of my head as
he huskily informs me "One of these days, you are going to
compliment me."
I tutted "I would not hold my breath if I was you."
Just as we were about to enter the dining room where the
two lovebirds were already sitting, he moved a hair out of
my face and tucked it behind my ear "You will be
complimenting my mouth in a couple of days."
That made me stop in my tracks. Pivoting to face his far too
taunting face, I crossed my arms.
His words were only partly true. I would never come out and
comment aloud about his lips but I would be thinking about
them. I would be thinking about how they felt soft yet harsh
again mine and how he dominated my whole body as held
my face in his large hands.
Jolting all rogue thoughts about him away, I finally came
back with "That will not be happening. I am going to find out
your stupid name one way or another."
With that, I strutted away and over to the table.
Lana was sitting right next to Brennan and whispering under
her breath.
So much for getting away from the bane of my existence
because I ended up being seated right next to him. The
good thing about my seat was that it gave me perfect
access to kick him under the table.
Stone sat down in the chair, his muscular arm resting on my
chair right behind my head. His large legs were hitting
under the table, so he moved them so one was touching
mine.
Mr Lewis entered the room with a few plates. He placed
them on the centre of the table and sat down. He was just
about to put some rice on his plate but dropped the spoon
as soon as his wife entered with a face like thunder.
She shot him a look as she set down a massive pot of
chicken covered in a red sauce "The guests are to be served
first. You know this."
"Sorry, Kelly." Mr Lewis said sheepishly but sent a small
mischievous smile our way that made me compare him with
Brennan once again.
Once everyone was sitting at the table, I restrained myself
from leaping to help myself to the food. I was grateful when
Mrs Lewis gave the all-clear to help ourselves.
I was fast to load up my plate with the delicious smelling
food. Just like the smell, the taste was just as good. My
reaction to the chicken on my tongue was to let out a small
moan that was only loud enough for Stone to hear.
The leg against mine stiffened.
As I munched on the food, Stone watched me and let out a
small chuckle "If you eat any faster then you are going to
get heartburn."
I pointed at him with my fork "You should be grateful that
Mrs Lewis is such a good cook. This gives me another
reason to still talk to you. So, I can get another invite to
dinner."
Everyone at the table laughed and I was reminded that we
were not the only ones in the room.
"So, Lana, what are you plans for after graduation?" Mr
Lewis took the chance to start a conversation "I am sure
Brennan mentioned you were musical."
The blonde girl nodded while she smiled "I love singing. I
can’t imagine doing anything else. I guess I will try and
make it in the music industry."
What annoyed me was how she put herself down. The music
industry was tough but if there was one person that could
make it then it would be my best friend.
I had the urge to defend her future stardom, so I spoke up
"She is an amazing singer. Lana writes her own music, and
she has a great voice. She will make it big."
Lana smiled in gratitude from the other side of the table
before mouthing "Thank you."
I winked at her, and I hoped she would read it as an
encouragement to show the other two how amazing she
was.
After she started to speak to Brennan, I got back to eating
but was quickly interrupted by Stone nearing my ear.
His deep voice whispered along my earlobe "I am just
grateful that it is not you wanting to be the singer. My ears
have still not recovered from your Teenage Dirtbag
performance."
Not being able to hold back my laughter, I coughed while
trying to swallow the piece of chicken at the back of my
throat. When I took a drink and looked at Mrs Lewis, I
expected to see her looking at me weirdly but instead, she
was smiling from ear to ear at the both of us.
The older lady asked curiously "What do you want to do
after school, Ella?"
"I have always loved books, so I am thinking about studying
English lit at college." I told them "I would love to be an
author, but I have always wanted to teach so I am unsure
still."
Stone grumbled from beside me "You never told me that."
My expression morphed to confusion as I lowly replied, "You
never asked."
"It is rare to see a young person being so interested in
literature." Mrs Lewis said before asking "What is your
favourite book?"
"It is hard to choose but if I had to pick an author then I
would pick Edgar Allan Poe." I answered her before
remembering "Although, I can't read anymore because I
have lost it."
Mrs Lewis' smile dropped as she looked to Stone. Her
husband next to her however peered between me and Stone
with a face of amusement.
"The boys tell us nothing, so we have no idea how you all
met." Mr Lewis spoke up.
Brennan replied to his father "Well Lovely Lana and I met in
the line to a candy apple stall. There was only left so I said I
would share it with her if she went on the Ferris wheel with
me."
"Very smooth. I have raised you well." Mr Lewis interjected
with a chuckle before he motioned to my side of the table
"Now, how did you two meet?"
Stone was watching me and waiting for me to reply. His
attention never left me as I retold the story.
I laughed while telling them about our infamous first
encounter "I was actually really nice to Lurch—I mean
Stone. Then he said that my hair was the colour of puke."
A gasp came from Mrs Lewis "That is awful! I hope he
apologised."
I was about to shake my head and maybe let out a fake cry
when the man in question spoke up while letting out a deep
laugh.
"You got even." Stone replied, "You still call me Lurch."
"You call me Medusa." I argued, "If you never insulted my
hair, I would have been nice to you from the start."
"I doubt that." He accused, raising a brow.
I hummed "Maybe you are right."
Stone then lowered his voice until it was a deep rough
murmur "I would not change how we met."
For a second I forgot that everyone else existed. It was just
me and him. I found myself half surrendering to the small
battle between us because next, I revealed "I would not
change it either."
Brennan's mother's voice pulled me out of my intense eye-
lock with Stone as she asked me "What was your first
impression of him before he insulted your hair?"
"I thought a giant had raided the ice cream shop." I
answered safely, not wanting to admit what I really had
thought when we met. I was not going to flatter him and
lose my dignity while at it.
Everyone had burst out laughing.
"My first thought was woah this guy is huge." I joked and
then added, "Then I had the urge to strangle him."
The giant shook his head, chuckling down at me "Medusa,
you cannot even reach my neck."
I narrowed my eyes at him while laughing "I can when you
are sitting down."
"Stone is just not as charming as me." Brennan inputted
cockily.
Mrs Lewis shook her head "Ella and Lana, do you see what I
have to deal with?"
Lana giggled and then responded by asking both of his
parents "How did you both meet?"
The woman at the head of the table sighed dreamily "Baron
and I actually met at our school prom. We were at school
together but had never spoke. Not until that night. We
danced all night long."
Mr Lewis added to his wife's story with the same dreamy
look "I could not keep my eyes off her—"
Brennan sighed and he sounded bored "Do you really have
to tell the story?"
"I think it is romantic." Lana said to Brennan.
So, did I. It sounded like a beautiful story. You could still see
the love in their eyes for each other. I really hoped I would
have that when I was their age.
I eventually wanted someone to look at me that way and
continue to look at me that way for years later.
Watching them put a smile on my face. Which I
automatically hid with my hand as soon as I saw Stone
watching me with a small smile of his own. A smile that I
had to lean closer to see properly.
Dragging her gaze away from her husbands, Mrs Lewis
asked "Is there any dances coming up at your school?"
"There is the Fall Ball coming up at our school, but Lana and
I never usually go." I mentioned.
The Fall Ball was a yearly event at Leavendale High where
the smelly gym hall was transformed into an autumn-
themed wonderland. It gave students a chance to dress
nicely, get drunk and hook up.
Brennan's mother looked at me like I was crazy as she
expressed "You have to go. There is no point in wasting your
teenage years not going to high school events."
Lana told her "Ella hates school functions. Every year I try to
convince her to come but she has none of it. She once told
me that she would rather sell all of her organs than step
foot in the school building after school hours finish."
"How can anybody have fun at those type of places? Like
who wants to be prom queen? Have they not seen the
movie, Carrie? If I ever had to go, I would simply just wear
my pyjamas." I ranted "It would save me from going out
shopping and overspending on a dress that I will only wear
once."
They all laughed at my outburst and as they start to talk
about the good things about dances, Stone was watching
me.
He neared my ear again as he taunted "Should I buy a green
tie now? One that will match your Princess and The Frog
pyjamas?"
I tilted my head so that I was facing him head-on. I
attempted to avoid the feeling that came along with being
so close to him or even thinking about him. I was starting to
think it was inescapable.
I said the next sentence slowly so that I did not stutter a
word and make it clear that I was flustered "What makes
you think I would let you take me to a school dance?"
His eyes darkened immediately as he gnarled "Well there is
no way you are going with some other fucker."
"Oh, am I not?"
"No." He growled.
I rolled my eyes at his antics before I felt my mouth go up in
a smile. I had visions of him dragging me out of the gym hall
by throwing me over his shoulder.
It had become a signature Stone move.
"I don't want to go to the dance." I said, "It is not really my
scene."
"Then it is settled." He affirmed "Brennan and Lana can go.
We will stay home and watch Addams Family."
"That is great. Perfect almost." I spoke, my tone sarcastic
"Only one tiny problem."
"What?"
"You are never setting foot in my house again." I stated as I
voiced what I was thinking quietly so the others could not
hear "I have just realised that my Edgar Allan Poe book
disappeared after I left you to go with Lana. You stole it!"
All he did was release a dark chuckle from the bottom of his
throat.
"I only have so many books for you to steal. You will never
enter my apartment again." I told him.
"You have a lot of books, Drizella." He teased "If I was only
taking one each time, I was over, then it would take me five
years to steal your collection. My tiny nerd."
At the mention of my full name, I made a mental reminder
to ask one of his parents for his name.
The anticipation to know his name was eating at me. I
wanted to know his name more than I wanted to know the
secrets of Area Fifty-One and that was a lot.
Mrs Lewis glanced at Lana and then at me before she asked
"I know the meeting stories for everyone else but you two.
How long have you been friends?"
"Ella and I have been best friends for ten years." Lana
replied.
"Did you two meet at school?"
Lana nodded "Yes. I was really shy at school, and I would not
talk to anyone because I did not have the confidence to
start a conversation. Ella was..."
She trailed off when she realised what she was about to say.
She looked at me and she appeared apologetic.
"I was bullied in middle school." I continued for her "We met,
and we stuck together."
Nodding, Lana sent a smile my way.
"That is awful!" Mrs Lewis gasped "How could anyone bully
such a sweet girl?"
"I was the smallest person in the school, and I was weird
and nerdy." I added humour to my tone as I spoke.
The only person who had not spoken since the conversation
was the male beside me.
Stone did not look at me as I turned my head to him.
His expression was murderous. His jaw clenched and
unclenched in a rhythm as his nostrils flared.
There was something else swirling around in his black orbs.
An emotion that was unrecognised by me. One that made
him unable to meet my eye.
Clenched tight was also his hands at his sides. Instinctively I
reached under the table and laid my hand on top of his fists.
I had no idea why I done it but I interlocked our fingers until
his large hand wrapped around mine and squeezed.
He finally met my eye and I almost gasped at how much
emotion was on his face as he stroked my hand with his
thumb.
"Kids can be so mean." Mr Lewis commented with a sigh.
I took a deep breath and watched as everyone at the table
turned to look at me.
"People sometimes don't understand different." I voiced
quietly "I'm on the spectrum. I was diagnosed in middle
school and others were ignorant to what that meant. Some
guys in my class found the concept hard to grasp so they
picked on me for being a little different."  
The large strong hand tightened around mine.
"It is okay though." I added with a small laugh "The
experience made me grow thick skin and I leaned not to
listen to what others thought about me."
Stone never let my hand go for the remainder of the dinner.
He would not let me go.
Everyone finished their food after a long talk about school
and other random topics.
Mrs Lewis started to pile the plates and clean the table up
as she told everyone "I’ll clean this up and then come join
you back in the living room."
I got up from the table with the others but was stopped
when the woman spoke again.
"Ella, could you come and help me in the kitchen please?"
Mrs Lewis asked politely.
"Of course." I replied to her, grabbing a few plates and
carrying them to the next room alongside her.
I set the dirty dishes on the kitchen counter and just as I
was about to load them into the already open dishwasher, a
hand stopped me.
A twinkle gleamed in Mrs Lewis' brown eyes as she told me
the true motive behind the cleaning duty.
"I’m not going to let you clean the dishes, Ella." The woman
spoke with a mischievous grin "I am here to find out why my
future daughter in law is not dating my Stone yet."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Five
My jaw dropped at her question.
Mrs Lewis and I were similar in a way that we both liked to
ask people invading questions, but I had never been on the
receiving end of one.
I had no idea what to say so I kept my mouth closed
Mrs Lewis noticed that I was not in a rush to respond so she
spoke again "You and Stone need to just get together. I have
never known two people more suited for eachother than you
and him."
"It is not like that between us." I tried to argue by
swallowing down the lie.
Of course, I knew how Stone touched me was intimate.
Everything in my body knew it. I just could not acknowledge
it yet because my fear of letting someone in and getting
hurt was just as deep as my attraction towards the giant.
Her smile was small and full of disbelief "Then what is it
like?"
If I said it enough times aloud then maybe it would come
true.
"Stone doesn’t feel that way about me." I tried to state
confidently before I further explained, "He probably feels
obliged to talk to me because Brennan is going out with
Lana."
She shook her head side to side violently like the words I
were saying were impossible.
"Both of my boys are very different. Brennan is my son and I
know him better than anyone. Since he was little, he could
get on with anyone. That boy could charm the socks under
his bed." Mrs Lewis told me "On the other hand, Stone is a
little more difficult. You have probably seen it first-hand that
he does not like speaking. There are very few people he can
tolerate."
A laugh bubbled out of me as I think about all the times at
school or if we were out and someone tried to talk to him.
Mrs Lewis was right. He would just stay silent or offer one-
word answers to anyone who attempted to start a
conversation.
One scowl from him and most people ran for it.
"You can say that again." I smiled in agreement before I
laughed again "Although when it is just us then it is shutting
him up that is the problem."
The meddling Mrs Lewis' grin was nothing short of
triumphant as she mentioned "So you can imagine my
surprise when he came home and spoke about a girl. A
small green-haired girl with a smart mouth who he
described as the most beautiful girl he could have ever
imagined."
My breath hitched.
"Maybe he was talking about someone else?" I replied
stupidly, aware that what she had said was a description of
me.
"Do not tell Brennan that I told you and don't tell Stone that
Brennan told me." She looked sheepish as she informed me
"The night you all met on the pier, guess the first thing
Stone did as soon as he came back home from meeting
you?"
"Make a dartboard with pictures of my face?" I deadpanned,
remembering our bickering that night.
"He came home and watched both Addams Family movies
because you talked about them. He watched both movies
because you called him a name from them."
Heat rushed to my face and the room started to feel
overwhelmingly hot. I hoped the interrogator in the form of
Mrs Lewis did not notice how rattled I was.
Laughing it off, I told her "Maybe he just wanted to
understand the movie reference. If he admitted that he had
no idea what I was talking about then no doubt I would
made fun of him for it."
"It is not that." Mrs Lewis objected "I love Stone. He is my
son in every way that counts but he is difficult. He is not
approachable, and he is not nice to others. Some people
find him quite scary."
I had a humorous comment on my mind, but I decided it
was not the time to say it.
"Ella, you are the only that challenges him. You are the only
he would let challenge him." She smiled as she spoke, "I
think you two argue and bicker to show each other you care
about one another without coming out and saying it."
"That is—"
"I seen you both at the table." She cut me off "Everyone did.
The only person that does not believe you two are going to
end up together is you."
"What about Stone?" I challenged "He does not believe
that."
"He is well aware that you two are going to be together"
I had just met the woman but I could easily tell that she had
no filter. As much as I loved her forwardness, I could not
help but feel bare. She would make an excellent special
forces interrogator.
"You make him so happy." Mrs Lewis affirmed.
I shook my head "I did not do anything. I do not do
anything."
"You do not have to." She assured, "You just make him
happy."
Due to wanting to get away from her questions and because
I drank a lot of her lemonade with my dinner, I asked "Can I
use the bathroom?"
Mrs Lewis nodded her head and just as she was about to
answer, she closed her mouth again.
An impish smirk made its way onto her face as she replied,
"It is up the stairs and is the second room on the right."
Turning away from her and walking to the kitchen door, I
stopped at the doorway as I was suddenly reminded of my
current challenge with Stone. I recalled our wager.
I swivelled around to face her again as I questioned "Mrs
Lewis, what is Stone's first name?"
Her reaction was kind of expected after our whole
conversation, but I was still shocked by how delighted she
was.
The woman was practically jumping up and down as she
inquired "Why do you want to know?"
I wanted to know because of the game between us. I
wanted to know because he knew my name. I wanted to
know everything about him.
I picked the first reason because it was the easiest to
explain "We have this game between us. I have three days
to guess his name."
She looked to be thinking to herself and then it appeared
she had reached a decision.
"I will tell you it." Mrs Lewis decided "Only because I know
that whatever game you two are playing, he would want you
to win. Stone is definitely Team Ella."
"Even if it is against himself?"
"Even then." She said.
I knew it was a good idea not to go into detail about the
Rumpelstiltskin deal. If I told her that a kiss is what we were
fighting for then she would not tell me his name.
The name that left her mouth made my heart skip a beat.
"His name is Valentine."
Valentine. His name was Valentine Stone.
I could not come up with a better name for him if I had tried.
It suited him. There was something about the name that
showed authority and dominance. It sounded mysterious yet
majestic.
"Thank you." I said to her before I skipped out of the kitchen
in victory.
I felt the pulse in my neck quiver as a hope bloomed in my
chest.
“Mrs Lewis, has Stone ever had a girlfriend?” I questioned
with a heated face and a anxious gut “Has he ever been
interested in a relationship?”
Mrs Lewis scoffed and then laughed “Of course not!”
My head nodded autonomously, and I tried not to physically
deflate at the news that he did not date.
My heart stopped racing as I climbed the stairs of the house.
The white walls of the upper floor welcomed me at the top
of the staircase, and I was glad to be out of the embrace of
the meddling woman.
I reached for the door handle on the second door on the
right of the hall like Mrs Lewis had told me. I pushed the
door open and what I found only had my breathing
unsettled again.
The room was not a bathroom. Four grey walls boxed the
area with the only two prominent things being a black bed
and a bookcase.
I was in Lurch's lair.
My feet were on autopilot as I took two steps forward. I was
too far inside his bedroom to turn back now.
Running my hand along his collection of books, I smiled to
myself.
The leather jacket wearing, motorbike riding, scowling giant
was a bibliophile.
I knew that he always understood what I talked about when
I mentioned books but not that he had read them.
I had leverage on him now. He could no longer give me shit
about being a nerd when he had a miniature library in his
room.
My finger trailed along the shelf from Dickens to Oscar
Wilde. From Homer to F. Scott Fitzgerald. The only item that
was not a book on the shelf was a small black velvet box
right next to The Great Gatsby.
I was jealous of how organised his books were.
I could not believe he had the nerve to call me out for my
love of books.
Something on his bed caught my eye and made me flick my
attention from the shelf to his pillow.
My collection of Edgar Allan Poe poems was situated on top
of his pillow. It was positioned perfectly on the cushioned
surface like a rare artefact.
A deep voice pulled me out of my snooping "What are you
doing?"
I froze where I was.
Stone was leaning against the door, taking up all of the
space between the doorway. He watched me closely from
his position at the entrance of the room.
Caught in the act, I put my hands up while exaggerating my
innocence "I was just trying to find the bathroom."
His mouth went up in a smirk "Does this look like the
bathroom to you?"
"No." I answered "It looks like a bedroom. A book nerd's
bedroom."
He took a large step and stole the distance between us. His
expression morphed to more of a serious one as he neared.
"What you said at the table." He said vaguely in his gruff
voice that gave away that something was troubling him.
"About what?" I enquired before guessing "What I said about
the bullying thing?"
He nodded, his jaw ticking in a rhythm as his chest puffed
out like he was seconds away from ripping someone's head
off.
I asked, "What about it?"
"The image of you hurt makes me deranged, Ella."
My head craned upwards so I could study his face as I took a
step closer to him.
"What I would do to someone that had hurt you would land
me in jail for a very long time." He informed me, his tone
rough.
I neared him and noticed how his breaths were ragged like
the very thought alone made him manic. I stepped forward
and placed my hands on his chest in order to calm him
down as I peered up at him.
Stone's darkened gaze softened as I laid my palms on his
chest.
"My intention was never to hurt you." He voiced husky and
lowly "You have to know that, Medusa."
I realised that the emotion along with his anger back at
dinner was guilt. He had thought he had hurt me by teasing
me.
"I know that, Lurch." I said softly.
His lip twitched once as his large, calloused hands went to
my waist.
"I give out as good as I get." I smiled up at him.
The mouth of the giant twitched twice as he looked down at
me with a soft gleam in his black orbs
My gaze flicked over him as I studied Valentine Stone. He
was giant, not just in height but his large build. His face was
striking in a rough way. His short black hair was the colour of
midnight. The wide cheekbones and his strong jaw added to
his scary yet attractive appearance.
I was suddenly reminded that I knew his name and that I
had to plan how to weave that into the conversation
"You look pleased with yourself, Medusa." He pointed out
before asking "What are you smiling at?"
I grinned wickedly at him "I am just excited to tell everyone
that you are just as nerdy as me."
He smirked and it was one that sent a chill of excitement
through down my spine.
Stone stepped closer. I took a step back. We continued our
movement until my back was forced up against his
bookshelf. I became completely trapped as he towered over
me pressed himself against my body. His hands went to
each side of my head.
The position was familiar. Too familiar but it still managed to
leave me feeling light and dizzy. Captured was how I felt.
There was nowhere to go or to escape to.
Not that I wanted to leave.
He leant neared until he was near my lips. His words
promised something. Something that I did not know what it
was.
His words were a low grumble "What makes you think that
you can leave here to tell anyone?"
I did not move. I wanted to seem nonplussed as I thought up
my plan.
"Don’t worry, Lurch." I told him mischievously "I was
planning to write Stone reads books in the girl’s bathroom
but if you tell me your first name then I will write that
instead. If you tell me then nobody will know it’s you I am
talking about."
Stone tilted his head and kept his eyes on me as he
chuckled "Nice try, Medusa."
"Come on. Have a little faith in me." I swatted his arm "I
might be able to guess your name in two days. I have
thought up some names and I think they are possible
contenders."
"Let's hear them then," He said, amused.
Stroking my chin, I pretended to guess "Is your name
Chris?"
His eyes were focused on my lips like he had already won
the wager. He shook his head as his eyes met mine again.
Acting disappointed for a moment, I then tried a different
incorrect name "Owen?"
"No."
"I am running out of names." I whined before adding "I will
take a final guess."
"A final guess?" Stone repeated, his study of my lips
continuing "Then you are giving up?"
I nodded, faking innocence.
The suspicion built in the air as I stayed silent, and he
smirked at me.
"Is it Valentine?" I whispered to him as I smiled wickedly up
at him.
His smirk had been wiped off his face.
By the veins in his arm, I could tell that he was putting more
pressure on the shelf on both sides of my head as he
growled "You are a little cheat."
"You obviously do not know the story of Rumpelstiltskin. The
girl sends a spy into the forest to find out his name." I
grinned in victory "You need to brush up on your fairytales,
Lurch."
My victory was short-lived because he was about to pull
away from me.
The deal was if I got his name right then I would win. I never
realised what it meant if I did. I was so focused on learning
his name that I forgot what it meant. What I would miss out
on.
I wanted to kiss him.
So, I clutched the fabric of his shirt and pulled him to me. I
stood on my tiptoes and waited for him to bend down.
Then I put my lips on his.
I grabbed the back of his head and sealed every molecule of
air between us. I held on tightly so that his body was
pressed upon mine.
My control did not last long. His dominance took over as he
crushed his lips against mine harder.
God, this guy could kiss.
I moved my hands up from his face up so I could grip his
hair. I breathed him in and welcomed his tongue further into
my mouth as his hands gripped my waist. He clutched my
hips tightly as if he was securing me in place.
He let out a deep groan of satisfaction as he deepened the
kiss. The movement stole the breath from my lungs as I
remained pinned between him and the surface of the
bookshelf.
We pulled back for air about twenty minutes later, panting.
"You wanted to kiss me, Medusa?" He asked with a risen
mouth, his voice a hoarse low sound.
"No." I giggled near his lips "I just felt sorry for you. Losers
deserve something too."
Stone gnarled as his hands roamed further down from my
hips to under my butt. He then lifted me up, so I was
hovering for a second before catching me. My legs wrapped
around his middle as my back remained against the shelf.
I told myself that Stone was every other guy that had shown
interest in me and that I could keep it casual with him. I
loved casual with other guys.
The position was needed as it helped lessen the large height
difference.
He peppered kisses on my neck as my arm reached up and
gripped one of the shelves. He took skin between his teeth
lightly earning a moan from me.
His mouth trailed upwards and brushed the skin from my
neck to my chin to my lips and then he let out in a darkly
sensuous tone "Say my name."
I pulled back slightly to raise an eyebrow at him "I thought
the reason you hid your name was because you didn't like
it."
"I like it when it leaves your mouth." He declared gravelly "I
like it when it forms from your tongue."
My reply got lost in the air and I remained speechless.
"Say my name, Medusa." He said as he traced along my jaw
with his mouth.
"Valentine." I breathed out.
His lips were on mine again. They were once again taking
over my senses and filling my head with thoughts of him.
His aroma of leather and engine grease enveloped me as
did his body as he pressed against me.
I pulled back and glared at him "I am mad at you."
He chuckled as he kept his hands on the back of my thigh as
he still held me "What for?"
"You stole my book." I stated before asking "Why?"
"It is your favourite. I want to read it."
A knock at the door broke us apart.
Stone growled in the direction of the door as he let me go
gently onto the ground.
It was Brennan who called from the hall "Get out here! You
have been away for like thirty minutes."
My eyes widened at his words.
The giant reluctantly walked over to the door as he let out
grumble after grumble. He pulled open the door handle and
greeted Brennan with silence.
Meanwhile, I was trying to calm down my breathing. I ran a
hand through my hair and tried to fix the mess caused by
the large hand.
"Mom sent me up to tell you that dessert is ready." Brennan
told him before he noticed me in the room "Ella? We have
been looking for you. What are you doing in here?"
I did not miss the suggestive tone in his voice at the end of
his sentence.
"I sneaked up here to try and steal my book back." I lied,
trying to appear nonplussed "Stone caught me."
Brennan hummed before grinning "That book over there?
Still untouched on Stone's bed?"
I narrowed my eyes at loverboy before I quickly walked over
to the bed and took back my book.
My gaze kept anywhere apart from Stone as I hurried out of
the room.
A hand stopped me.
"What were you two doing in here?" Brennan whispered in
my ear before I could go "You have to stay here and protect
me, tiny woman. Stone looks like he is going to kill me for
interrupting your alone time."
I let out a small awkward laugh before I turned out of the
room and descended the stairs.
The mint choc chip ice cream I was promised was amazing.
However, I could not spend a lot of time savouring it
because the two boys were adamant about pushing us out
of the house.
I did not think they meant to be rude, but they seemed in a
rush for something.
When I asked Stone if anything was wrong, he offered me a
one-word answer and nothing more. He even avoided
meeting my eye completely.
The time on the analogue clock in the hall was half eight as
Mrs Lewis escorted us through the house. The two males
followed also as we reached the front door of the house.
Lana hugged Mrs Lewis and thanked her "Dinner was
amazing. It was nice meeting you."
"You too, dear." The older woman replied before she moved
on to me.
Her arms swallowed me in a large tight hug before she
cupped my face again. It left me wondering if I had chubby
cheeks.
"Do I really have to say goodbye?" Mrs Lewis sighed before
turning to face Stone "Can we not keep her?"
I let out a small nervous laugh.
"You can stay here, Ella. We have plenty of space. You can
live in Stone's room. He has a double bed." Mrs Lewis
blabbered on.
My mouth went agape as I tried to escape from the grasp of
her.
Brennan stood outside as we said our goodbyes to the
Lewis'. He gave Lana a hug and a quick peck and then said
bye to me by ruffling up my hair.
Stone stood there, watching me. His expression was hard to
read.
Lana elbowed me "We better go before Mrs Lewis kidnaps
you."
I met the giants' eye as I joked "Now we know where Lurch
gets it from."
A small smirk graced his mouth as he said "Medusa."
"Bye Lurch." I voiced before turning and heading down the
dimly lit pathway.
The heat at the back of my neck made me feel as if he was
watching me walk away.
The sky was almost dark with only a ray of sunlight on the
horizon. The street lamps were on and illuminating the busy
road. Many cars passed and were heading down in the
direction of the beach. What lit up the car though was the
time on the radio. It read eight forty-six.
Lana rolled down the window of Kermit as she revealed "I
think that went well. His parents were really nice."
"What did I tell you? Of course, they were going to like you."
I replied, "You are very hard not to like, Lana Armstrong."
"You are not so bad yourself. Drizella Miler." She said back
with a smile "His parents seemed to really like you."
"That does not really matter though. Does it?" I asked her
before pointing out "It is not like I am dating their son."
Her voice seemed accusing when she asked, "Where did you
go?"
"What do you mean?"
"You left for like half an hour after dinner." She asserted "You
went away upstairs."
Switching lanes, I pressed harder with my foot on the pedal
as I claimed, "It was not half an hour."
"Well?"
"Well?" I mimicked.
She let out an exasperated breath "Well, where did you go?"
Not being able to avoid the conversation for longer, I used
the same excuse I told Brennan "Stone stole my book. I had
to go and steal it back."
"How did he even get your book in the first place?"
This would be the perfect time to slip in the fact that Stone
had been in my house but that would lead to more
questions. For some reason, I wanted to keep it a secret. I
wanted to keep whatever it was strictly between us.
"I probably had it in my bag at school and he took it then. I
don't know." I excused.
"You don't take books to school." Lana mentioned "Not your
own ones anyway. You are afraid they will get ruined."
"You have gotten quite inquisitive in your old age, Lovely
Lana."
At the nickname, she stilled and then asked quietly "It did
go okay tonight. Didn't it?"
"Why would you think that it had not?"
She laughed a little but there was no humour in it "You saw
Brennan ten minutes ago. Everything was fine until he
started pushing us out the door. Do you think I have done
something wrong?"
"No. I don't." I answered honestly "I think the same thing
they both have been doing at nights for as long as we have
known them is still going on."
She nodded.
"Ella?" Lana said quietly.
I hummed in response.
"Why do you not admit it?" She spoke vaguely.
"I don't want to admit it." I replied in a whisper, knowing
exactly what she was talking about.
I was not ready, and I was too scared.
My thoughts quietly turned back to the incident in Stone's
room
I began to feel it. The sensation of change. Something that
only affected half of our little group. Something blooming
that had been there for a while.
I was not sure when it started or even how it had happened,
but I knew it was not going anywhere.
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Four
I was pretty certain that time worked differently within the
walls of Leavendale high. It was the start of the week
already and I was back again for another week in the limbo
of lockers.
Everyone including myself was gliding through the hallways
like mindless zombies heading to the cafeteria.
The day had stretched on. From waking up and arriving late
until my current position cramped in the lunchroom with a
hundred bodies.
It had been such a hectic day that I had not even seen Lana
yet. Neither had I spoke to Brennan nor Stone.
Although thoughts of the giant had been turning around my
head in an endless loop. Every single detail was crystal
clear. We had kissed twice and now I was starting to doubt
that it was a fluke.
Whatever I did feel for Lurch was only confirmed as I got
closer to our usual table in the lunch hall. My stomach
dropped and my last remaining ounce of happiness at being
back at school disappeared at the sight.
Lana and Brennan were talking with each other and on the
opposite of the table Stone was not alone.
The tall blonde girl who was speaking to Stone was in my
seat.
Lacey was chatting away while twirling her hair around her
finger.
Stone's back was to me. It left me wondering what his
reaction was to her.
I had never been so hopeful for him to grunt and growl her
away.
Lacey was beauty queen perfect with her long wavy blonde
hair and blue done up eyes.
The feeling was a new one. The only way I could describe
something near it that I had experienced would be when Mr
Dankworth told me that he got a limited edition copy of
Gone with The Wind for Christmas. Only this sensation of
envy was stronger.
I was angry at myself for allowing this to happen. I was
angry because he could talk to whoever he wanted, and it
was none of my business.
The emotion I was feeling was irrational and confusing. I had
no idea why I was feeling such a way.
My legs carried me to the table, and I acted unaffected as I
approached them.
"Budge up, Loverboy." I said to a solemn Brennan because
of my lack of a seat.
Brennan moved to the edge of the bench and allowed me to
squeeze in between him and Lana.
Sitting down, I focus fully on my best friend "Hey, Barbie."
"Hey, Freakshow." Lana smiled widely "We were just talking
about going to the beach after school. You in?"
I was about to answer her, but I could not. I was too
distracted by the heat of the dark gaze penetrating the side
of my face.
Stone was watching me.
His obsidian eyes were focused on the side of the table
rather than next to him. His attention never withered away
from my direction once as I spoke to Lana.
I finally gave in to the warmth covering my face from his
unfaltering stare. I faced him.
A harsh breath escaped me as I got a look at his face.
The area around his left eye was slightly swollen and an
ugly mix of purple and black. The new bruise did not soften
his already intimidating aura.
I was filled with curiosity at the sight of the mark on his face
and a million-question rested on the tip of my tongue.
The female invader to the table spoke "Hey. It is Ellie, right?"
"It is Ella but close enough" I replied to Lacey.
"Are you okay with me sitting here?" She said in a tone that
gave away she was not asking "It is a free country after all."
"To some extent. I think that is debatable—" I began.
Lana's nudge and small giggle cut me off.
Stone's mouth twitched before I shut my mouth and kept
my thoughts to myself.
I guess it was not the time to share my theories on the
government. Not that the blonde intruder was there to talk
to me.
I did not blame her for flirting with him, but I was not thrilled
about it. I was gritting my teeth at the sight.
Lacey started talking to Stone again. Her flirting was
effortless like every word came naturally to her. Yet it did
not seem that effective as she was having a conversation by
herself with no reply.
I tried to tune out of what she was saying and instead listen
to what Brennan and Lana were talking about. As they
talked about classes and teachers, I nodded at the right
times of their conversation rather than give in and look over
to the other side of the table.
"Medusa." A deep voice pronounced.
I turned and met the pair of dark eyes. Stone was still not
paying any attention to the girl. He remained to give me his
full attentiveness.
The giant spoke again in his rough tone "Come here."
I tilted my head at him and remained seated where I was.
"Are you okay, Brennan?" I asked to distract myself and to
point out his lack of teasing like normal.
Brennan nodded, the tendons in his neck close to snapping
as he looked away from the table.
"Do you think Stone has a girlfriend?" I joked, motioning to
across the table.
A hint of confusion flicked over his face before he chuckled.
Brennan watched me with a smirk as he replied, "He
wishes."
My stomach dropped again as I sneaked a peek at the giant
again before keeping my head down.
I needed to distance myself from him. I needed to start
avoiding him.
Lacey's silky seductive voice filled the silence "You are so
strong. How often do you work out?"
I bit my lip and tried to contain my laughter.
I waited for Stone's response but there was not one.
Lana giggled in my ear "He is not even answering her back."
I shrugged my shoulders and acted nonchalant as I brought
out my peanut butter and jelly sandwich which that I made
that morning.
The heat from a certain gaze did not wither so I stole
another look ahead of me. Stone's jaw ticked as he studied
my position that was not next to him. His glance did go next
to him once and his expression contorted to emotionless as
he did so.
About to start quietly eating my lunch, a quarterback caught
my eye who was walking towards the table.
"Hey," I greeted Chase as I swivelled on the bench to face
him.
"Hey, Ella." He said back as he took a bite of the green
vegetable in his hand and then held it out to me "Do you
want my pickle?"
"Chase." I put a hand on my chest and laughed "At least
take me out to dinner first."
He threw his head back and laughed.
The last time I checked, the cafeteria did not have a petting
zoo. However, you would think that it had from the deep
predatory noises made from behind my back.
"How was your weekend?" I asked the quarterback, ignoring
the snarling from Stone.
"Could have been better." Chase answered before chuckling
"I had to finish my first draft of that essay for English."
"How did you get on?"
He looked to be debating and then answered honestly "I
don't really know. At least you sent me some notes. They
helped a lot."
I let out a laugh at him. He had absolutely no faith that he
had done well.
Trying to reassure him, I joked "As long as you have not
written about Shakespeare liking pasta for your setting
paragraph then I think you will be fine."
"Mr Dankworth has his standards too high." Chase tried to
argue "The old man thinks we are all are actually interested
in what he is teaching."
"Hey" I pointed to him dramatically "Do not insult Mr
Dankworth. You have had an extension on your essay. It is
justified that he is expecting a better essay from someone
that has had an extra week to do it."
Chase laughed but he looked more amused at the sight
behind me. I followed to where he was looking at a
glowering Stone.
His glare was intense and stoic. The glowering was an
indication that his rage was barely being contained. The
dark eyes switched to a deep feral hunger as he set his
sights on me.
I rolled my eyes and looked back at Chase.
"Maybe another study session would be helpful for my final
draft." The quarterback said as he kept his eyes trained
behind me "Ella. You free?"
Stone spoke for the first time since the arrival of Chase, and
it was more of a bark than words "Fuck off."
Mockingly laughing, Chase did walk away. Not without
sending a few smug looks to an already fuming giant.
I swivelled around in my seat and turned to Stone "Why
should I not go with him?"
His eyes softened as I met his gaze.
Only slightly though because the intensity between us
remained. The challenge had us deadlocked. It was so fierce
that I had to look away from him to stop myself from feeling
on fire.
I noticed that Lacey had disappeared. She had probably
taken the hint from Stone's scowl and lack of conversing.
He did not even acknowledge her as she left the table.
Stone finally answered my question "Because I do not want
you to."
"So, if you tell me to jump then I ask how high?" I
sarcastically remarked before I stated, "That is not a good
enough reason."
"Either you get rid of him, or I get rid of him." He gnarled,
his voice deepening at the last part hinting that getting rid
of part involved violence.
I laughed at his dramatics.
Then I changed the subject to what I wanted to ask, "Have
you got yourself a girlfriend, Lurch?"
He went still and he went mute. He only moved his head to
the side to shake his head. It is in disagreement, but it
appears as more. His expression showed disbelief at what I
had said.
I could not help but stare at his black eye. It was so big and
bruised that it could not have been an accident.
The urge to reach out and touch it was overwhelming.
"What happened to your eye?" The question bubbled out of
me.
His lip went up in a small smirk.
"Why are you smirking?" I narrowed my eyes at him as I
questioned his smugness.
"You are just awfully caring towards your acqenemy."
I crossed my arms "Whatever. I don't care."
Stone let out a small deep chuckle, telling me that he did
not believe me.
I was glad that his eyes did no longer hold a murderous
gleam. More of a determined look graced his striking
features.
"Come." He ordered.
"Excuse me?"
He motioned to my crammed body between Lana and
Brennan "Come here."
"No."
"Medusa." He darkly let out in warning.
"Whatever." I challenged "What are you going to do? Make
me?"
His smirk turned evil as he got up from his seat, rising to his
full skyscraper height. He slowly rounded the table before
he leaned over until his breath was brushing my ear.
"Should not have said that Medusa." He rasped before he
gently set his hands firmly on the place of my hips.
"Ston-aah." I let out as he lifted me up into the air.
My feet wiggled around as he held me tightly by the waist
and carried me back to his side of the table.
"I do not like you." I bit out as he set me down next to him.
Stone was more interested in making sure my leg was
touching his.
I made the spiteful purposed move to scoot along the bench
only to be pulled back by a large set of hands.
"Do you just do what you want?" I said to him as I narrowed
my eyes.
"I take what I want."
Brennan coughed and that broke our intense eye lock.
"Beach tonight." The surfer across from us broke the tense
silence "Are you both up for it?"
The giant nodded but did not let his study on me wither
away.
I turned my head and nodded also "Sure. As long as Little
Miss Sunshine next to me cheers up."
"I do not know what you were expecting." He bit out, his jaw
clenching and unclenching "I am not going to sit here and
send you on way with prince fucking charming over there."
I raised an eyebrow at him "Maybe I should."
Stone leant closer to me. His ferocious attitude had returned
as he growled near my ear "I dare you."
"I like dares." I smiled sweetly at him "A little study session
never harmed anyone, Lurch."
There was something lethal building up in his eyes. Like a
storm about to ruin the whole world. Large arms crept along
my waist, and he ensnared me in his embrace as he started
speaking lowly.
His words were a dark promise "If you go near him then he
will be unrecognisable after I am done with him."
"It is wholly innocent. I am genuinely trying to help him in
English." I affirmed in the form of an exasperated sigh "Have
you not ever had someone over to your house and in your
room just to read? It is not heated stuff."
His smirk went malicious as he spoke "I have had a small
green haired girl in my room, and it was heated stuff."
Touché to the mammoth.
I turned away, my face going a beetroot colour.
Stone then remembered something because he turned his
neck quickly to the side so he could gnarl out "He is not
coming to your house."
"Whatever." I tutted, having the urge to go and sit next to
Chase just to spite him.
He let out a deep breath before his shoulders relaxed from
their previous tensed state. He did not remove his hand
from my waist and instead moved me closer until one of my
legs hitched up onto his.
His relaxed state was short-lived when Lana pointed to the
other boy that was making his way to the table.
"Ella, look who it is." She pointed towards the scrawny boy
with curly brown hair.
"Who is it?" Brennan asked.
"Biology Boy." Lana and I said at the same time.
"What the fuck is a Biology Boy?" A deep voice interjected.
We called him Biology Boy because we had no idea what his
name was. All we knew is that he liked to talk to me all
period when we were in biology.
"He likes Ella." Lana quietly informed them "He even got a
little excited when he had to put her into the Heimlich
Manoeuvre."
A deep bang hit the lunch table and shook it like an erupting
volcano.
I cringed at the memory.
The problem was that Biology Boy could not take the hint
and see that I was uninterested. He was a really nice guy,
and I did not have the heart to be mean to him but it was
hard to gently let him down.
I needed something to scare him away.
Then it clicked. I was sitting next to the scariest person on
the planet, and he just happened to be in a foul mood at
that moment in time.
Biology Boy smiled at me and spoke in his high-pitched
voice "Hey Ella, would I be able to borrow some of your
notes for biology? I wasn't able to jot them all down."
I nodded "Sure. Let me just get them out of my bag."
Quickly kicking my bag under the table in direction of Stone,
I then curled my arm around the large muscular one next to
me and pulled myself closer to the huge build.
"L—Love, can you pass my bag please." I quickly corrected
my almost use of his nickname.
Stone went from furious to amused as soon as I said the
words. His darkened eyes softened as I smiled at him.
I shot him a look that read as play along.
He snaked his hands around my middle and lifted me up
onto his lap. Then he buried his head into my neck.
My body froze completely when he started to kiss the
delicate skin under my chin.
I moved my head so I was closer to his ear, and I could
whisper "What do you think you are doing?"
His hand reached up and tipped my head back so he could
go back to kissing my neck "I want to know if you taste like
apples all over."
A delicious shiver went down my spine and I had the need
to close my eyes and roll my head back.
Biology Boy coughed and looked between us "Is he your
boyfriend?"
"Yes." I lied.
My supposed boyfriend's hands on my hips twitched and
started caressing my waist.
The rough authoritative voice spoke, "She is mine."
I felt slightly bad as I watched the brown curly-haired boy
meet the eyes of the tattooed giant. He looked like he was
going to wet himself.
The Biology Boy scurried away without a word.
"What about the notes?" I shouted but he was too far gone
to hear.
The urge to move against the thick leg between my legs
was becoming too much. My chest was panting and my
muscles wanted to move my core against him over and over
again.
I crawled off Stone's lap when he was distracted. He was too
busy looking pleased with himself. I could tell he was
inwardly grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"Well, that was one way to get rid of him." Brennan
chuckled.
A frown had etched on Stone's face and his lighter
expression was no longer there.
"I am going to have to lock you away." He said in the form of
a grumble.
"No, thank you." I snorted "A few hours at school with you is
more than enough. I can’t handle any more than that."
He shook his head, his lip curling up.
I let myself glance at his lips before I narrowed my eyes at
him again. I was more reassuring myself when I spoke aloud
"I hate you."
"Do you?" He raised a brow, unconvinced.
"I hate you." I said again before elaborating while I raised
myself on my knees, so I was at his face level "I hate you
more than anything. I cannot think about anything else
except how much I hate you."
Stone moved a piece of hair from my face and behind my
ear before he dropped his thumb, so it brushed my lip "For a
little nerd, I am unsure you know what the word hate
means."
My gaze flicked over the mountain of a man before I sighed.
He was right.
Brennan spoke up "You two just need to hatef—"
The glare from Stone shut him up and made him not
continue his sentence.
Lana choked on her juice and almost spat it out.
I had nothing left to say so I sat and ate my peanut butter
and jelly sandwich in silence.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Five
The boys were unloading their surfboards from the back of
the black truck. After school, I drove back home to change
into shorts and a bikini. I also ditched Kermit on my street
before Stone picked me up.
We had not spoken since our conversation at lunch. It hung
in the air between us. It was only a matter of time before
the elephant in the room had to be addressed.
As the two boys continued to mess around at the truck,
Lana and I started walking ahead onto the sand.
She nudged me with a smile "So what was that at lunch?
Have you been keeping something from me?"
"I don't know what you are talking about." I claimed.
Lana laughed again at how blatant my lie was before she
mentioned "He was totally hinting that something had
happened between the two of you."
"He is deranged." I pointed out before trying to get away
from answering the question "Did you see him with Chase?
He looked like a pure psycho. He was definitely lying about
whatever he was trying to hint at."
"The only liar here is you. You are lying to yourself." She
replied, "Everyone could see how jealous Stone was when
you were speaking to Chase and Biology Boy."
Looking out to the waves, I pretended to feign confusion
"That is ridiculous—"
She did not stop her accusation there "I think you were
jealous too."
"Jealous of what?" I blurted out.
"You should have seen your face when you saw Lacey talk to
him."
I muttered, "I could not care less who Stone speaks with."
"She tried to speak with him." Lana spoke again "He didn’t
even say anything to her. He was watching you the whole
time. She was extremely flirty, but he never once strayed
from you. His eyes were on you as soon as you came into
the cafeteria. Just like it was at Chase's party."
A small smile made its way onto my face, and I could not
fight it.
Lana noticed it and pointed to my face "See. You are happy
about it."
"No. I am not!"
"It is safe to say that the green eye monster came out
today." She joked.
My jaw unhinged at her choice of words "Did you just quote
Shakespeare and use it in the right context?"
"So, you were jealous then?"
"Typical that this is the conversation you choose to do it." I
uttered, still shocked at her Shakespeare remark.
"Oh my god." Lana squealed "You have a crush on Stone."
I cut her off by shouting but it came out all high pitched
"No!"
The word crush did not feel tight. It sounded immature and
insignificant. Which was not what I felt for Stone.
It was more than that.
We sat down at a random place on the beach. The sand was
warm on my legs and bottom as I relaxed into the texture,
not hating the way it felt.
My best friend's face contorted to more of a baffled
expression as she tilted her head "You seem much more at
ease than the last time you were at the beach. You seem
calmer and happier. What has changed?"
It was because the last time I was at the beach I was with
Stone. He helped me dip my toe in the water and then he
helped me to jump into the deep end. He supported me and
made me face my deepest fear.
I had not even noticed that I was not panicking or anxious
about behind here.
Everything felt more than okay.
I answered her vaguely "I had a little help."
Looking around at the stunning scenery in front of me, I
thought of my mother. When I was younger and my dad was
at work, she would take me here. She would build great big
sandcastles and let me bury her in the sand. One day when
she was teaching me how to swim and when told me that I
was ready to take my armbands off, she said to me Ella, it
normal to have these feelings. You can’t fear your emotions.
You can only embrace them.
I did not want to fear my emotions. I wanted to embrace
them.
All memories about this beach drifted away until only one
remained in my thoughts. Stone and I and the kiss.
There was no point in trying to deny it to myself anymore. I
felt for Stone.
More than an aqcenemy or even a friend.
The thought made me want to run away and never come
back.
It was then that I noticed that both males were standing
behind us.
I hoped that he had not heard me, but I was starting to
guess that he had heard the conversation. The evidence to
back up my suspicion was his smug face.
My decision to go with them to the beach now did not seem
like a good one. I was meant to be convincing everyone else
and myself that I did not like Stone.
I could not do that if I was too busy staring at the tattooed
bare chest.
Stone had an extremely effortless talent to be sinfully
seductive. He just stood there and was naturally irresistible.
Maybe it was his good looks or his mysterious aura. Maybe
it was his artistic tattoos or his toned body. Maybe it was
him as a person. A secret nerd that was funny and
challenged me in every way possible.
Maybe it was all the reasons and so much more.
I could also feel his gaze on me. His eyes travelled from my
being in contact with mine to my lips and then to my two-
piece black bikini.
I felt bare under his watch. It was like he always knew what I
was thinking about.
He shook out of his trance like state and came to sit down
next to me.
Brennan sat down at the other side of me as he grinned
"See, Little Ella. This is so much more fun than tutoring that
asshole, Chase."
Flipping him off, I replied "What is your problem with Chase?
I don't get what he has done to you."
"He has not done anything to me," Brennan admitted, "but I
have to support my guy, Stone."
"How nice." I deadpanned before I turned to Stone and
asked, "And what is your great reason to hate him?"
The expression of disbelief from lunchtime had returned.
He grumbled his response. It was too low and too quiet that
there was no way Lana and Brennan could hear it "You know
why."
I shook off the need to ask more on what he meant by that
and told Brennan "It was actually Lana that tried to push me
and Chase together at the start."
Brennan went wide-eyed in shock as he looked at her "Why
would you do that?"
"I thought it was a good idea." Lana held her hands up "I
thought Ella was lonely and needed somebody."
"Hey!" I reached out and swatted her arm "I am a pretty
cool person on my own."
"Of course, you are." She agreed, her tone the opposite of
sarcastic.
"I feel kind of lame that my best friend had to go hunting to
find me a possible boyfriend and someone that would want
me."
She countered back with "That is nonsense! I can name at
least five guys that have tried to pursue you—"
Growling cut her off.
Lana held back a giggle and continued "You have always
pushed people away. You are trying to hide your inner
helpless romantic."
Stone's jaw unclenched and stopped ticking.
"Drizella Miller. The Notebook crier." The giant whispered in
his husky voice.
I rolled my eyes before I stuck my tongue out at him "Call
me that again and I will give you something to cry about."
He chuckled deeply "So much violence compacted into such
a tiny body."
"I am not that small!" I yelled before I lied "I am five foot
two."
My argument left out the small detail that five foot two was
my height with heels on and that my real height was less
than that.
The love birds eventually upped and left in the direction of
the water. Brennan and Lana's disappearance meant I was
left with him and the truth.
I readjusted my position on the sand and brought my knees
up to my chest as I avoided meeting the eye of the smug
Goliath.
Sighing, I surrender to temptation and questioned "What are
you smirking at now?"
His harsh striking features went slightly softer, and his eyes
were not an exception.
However, his voice was evil and taunting. It was also an
indicator that he had heard the earlier conversation.
"So, Medusa, from what I have heard, you have a crush on
me."
"Crush on you?" I repeated before tutting "You misheard. I
was talking about how I wanted to crush you."
He looked up at the sky and let out a small deep chuckle "I
think someone secretly likes me."
I moved my head to hide my smile from him "I guess you
are not the worst person I have ever met."
My confession made Stone laugh louder and he smiled. It
was not a small one or even a signature smug one. It was a
full smile that showed off all his perfect teeth.
It infuriated me how attractive he was.
Even with the big bruise around his eye, he managed to look
flawless.
Giving up and deciding not to care about him knowing that I
care, I pointed to his eye "What happened to your face?"
Stone's smile dropped instantly.
He blinked twice before answering "The hood of a car fell on
me at work."
Leaning back, I put my hands on the sand to match his pose
and replied, "Yeah and I am the Dalai Lama."
He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Both of those statements are the same." I further explained
"Complete bullshit."
"And what are you basing that judgement on?"
"Maybe I just know how to read you." I replied.
A smirk grew on his face as he casually started caressing
my bare hip "I think Drizella Miller does have a crush on
me."
"I think Valentine Stone is asking for another black eye" I
threatened with a sweet smile.
After he threw me a faux glare, I burst out laughing. His
gaze softened as I covered my mouth to stop myself from
laughing further. He joined in my amusement with a
chuckle.
I wondered then if I would ever meet someone that could
make me laugh more than him.
He was worth keeping around.
My hand reached out and I gently ran my finger on the
darkened part of his eye. I made sure my touch was gentle
so it would not hurt him.
"What is your verdict then, Medusa?" He asked, amusement
in his tone "Will I live?"
I hummed "You look like you will be fine...unfortunately."
Stone shook his head and let out another husky laugh.
I studied the eye as I leaned closer and then my attention
dropped to his suggestive smirk.
"I don't think a kiss heals black eyes, Lurch." I spoke.
"There is no harm in trying."
My lip gets pulled by my teeth to hide my smile as I
rebutted "My lips do not have magical healing abilities."
"Yes," He let out hoarsely as his gaze dropped to my mouth
"They do."
"Then perhaps I should share my gift with the rest of the
male population." I teased.
"No." Stone growled "You should not."
Our amusement died down and that is when the studying
eye of the giant became more heated. More intimate.
"Why do you dislike your name?" He asked gently.
I was caught off guard by his question. It was so abrupt and
random that I felt my eyebrows raise.
I tilted my head "Who says I hate my name?"
He offered me a smug smile. One that silently informed me
that he could read me like a book.
I loathed his smugness and his ability to know me better
than anyone else.
However, I indulged him anyway "I was named after the
wicked and ugly stepsister from Cinderella."
Stone let out a chuckle from deep in his chest. It was like he
was waiting for me to laugh as well like I was telling him a
joke.
When I did not, his features hardened, and he went back to
his usual serious-looking exterior.
Lana and Brennan were splashing around in the water. I was
watching them to avoid the pair of obsidian eyes as I
revealed the story behind the name.
"My mother was obsessed with Cinderella." I began to tell
him "It was her favourite fairytale. She watched the movies
all the time religiously. It was her obsession while she was
pregnant with me. She loved the story so much that she
named me after it. Just not Cinderella. Instead, I was named
Drizella. The ugly stepsister. The side character. The girl that
was desperate for her own fairytale but does not end up
getting it."
I had never told anyone why the name had bothered so
much and there I was opening up to him.
He listened like he hung on to every word I spoke. Like what
I said was the most important thing in the world to him.
"Did you know that in the original story, Drizella cut off her
toes so the glass slipper would fit her, and she could marry
the prince?" I recited before pointing out "Which is ludicrous.
Who would cut their limbs off for a stupid Prince? If it was
for a sorcerer that could conjure up a massive library, then
maybe I would consider it."
If my life was a fairytale, I would be one of the talking
animals that broke out into song. If this was someone kind
of coming age of movie, then I would be the character that
only made an appearance when the main character needed
help.
I had felt this way most of my life. Like a side character.
Someone of unimportance.
Books were my escape from reality. I used them to transport
into mystical realities much better than mine.
Although, my view has started to shift as I met the dark pair
of eyes. The energy between him and I was enough to make
my life more intriguing.
"You were named after the ugly stepsister?" He repeated,
his usual deep voice showing a hint of disbelief "You must
have been an ugly baby."
I rolled my eyes "I am choosing to see that as a really
backwards way of you saying that I am not completely ugly
now."
Stone's lip quirked upwards as he let his obsidian irises flick
over my face.
There was nothing but honesty in his voice and his
expression showed no sign of humour. He said his words like
they were the undeniable truth.
"You know that you are stunning." He rasped "You are the
most beautiful creature I have ever seen."
I blinked twice to make sure that I was no imagining what he
had said.
He called me beautiful. He thought I was beautiful.
The heat rose to my cheeks, and I blushed in stunned
silence, replaying the words in my head like a broken record.
I hoped with everything in me that this was not his idea of a
cruel joke.
Remember his choice of words, I let out a nervous laugh
"Creature? Are you insinuating that I am not human."
"There is nobody like you, Ella."
My heart was pounding. It was pounding so much that I
could hear it in my ears. Every single syllable he said I
focused on just to make sure that it was real and not some
kind of dream.
"There is plenty of people like me." I dismissed his idea "I
am sure if you went out and did not try to scare everyone
away then you would see that. You are just too antisocial to
talk to new people."
"I do not want to talk to anyone else."
My hands moved to behind my shoulders so I could move
my overly long hair to cover my face. I was hoping that the
green would hide my red face.
"I think if you want something then you will get it." Stone
spoke, his gravelly voice strong "So what if you are not
called Cinderella. She talked to rats all day and was a push
over. You on the other hand are a fighter. You will fight for
your fairytale. Whatever that is."
I smiled at him, a silent thank you.
"I happen to like Drizella a lot better." He confessed.
My smile widened and I was grinning at him. He took his
index finger and traced it over my lips and then drew over
the curve of my mouth.
Stone added with a smirk "You even have the fairytale green
hair."
I closed my mouth and frowned at the mention of the made-
up colour.
"Will you ever let that go and forget about it?" I asked.
He shook his head twice. His lip twitched again before finally
dragging his gaze away from me and then moving towards
the horizon.
The contrast between the light from the sun and the
darkness of him was overwhelming. The sight was
devastating.
I wondered if he knew how badly he was affecting me.
By the way, he carried himself with such authority and
dominance without even speaking most of the time
suggested that he was aware of his effect on people, but I
wondered if he knew his effect on me.
Giving in to him, I voiced "Thank you."
He studied me quietly before he spoke huskily "For what?"
"For making me feel good about myself." I admitted before
reluctantly telling him the truth "You are a good guy."
Stone smiled. It was small and a little strained, but it was
present on his face.
"I mean that you are a good guy deep down." I tried to
explain myself so he would not get an even bigger ego
"Really deep and hidden in the depths of your dark soul."
"Was that meant to be a compliment?" He said, chuckling to
himself.
"I see past the leather jacket and the scary scowl and the
overall intimidating-ness of you." I laughed "I know that you
are a big giant teddy bear on the inside."
He scowled and I laughed. His scowl disappeared after a
second and his lip twitched again.
The silence and closeness left no room for lies.
I panicked and I felt the need to say something else. He had
called me beautiful and what I had said back was that he
was barely a good guy.
I blurted out "I guess what I’m trying to say is I like you."
There was no guessing about it but I did not add that to my
confession.
Before he could respond, Lana and Brennan's laughter as
they approached us interrupted the moment.
The two lovebirds sat on the sand next to us and they both
stopped chatting as they noticed the atmosphere.
Brennan appeared a little scared as he looked at Stone but
quickly recovered by laughing like he was trying hard to
contain his amusement.
"Sorry, have we interrupted something?" Brennan asked,
grinning.
"No. Of course not." I quickly disclosed before changing the
conversation back to them "You two were not in the water
for long."
Lana looked slightly uncomfortable when she shrugged "We
wanted to make sure you two had not killed each other."
"Or other stuff." Brennan added while wiggling his eyebrows
"Sex on the beach should just be a cocktail. Not a Stone and
Ella Monday evening."
Picking up a handful of sand, I threw it at Brennan.
He threw some back and chuckled while doing so.
Stone sat there silently watching me with a look of deep
thought for the rest of the day.
I wished that I could explain the comfort that I got from the
dark eyes following my every move.
It did not make any sense, but it did not need to. I did not
want to unravel the mystery that was us. I feared that it
would end whatever it was we had. I did not want it to end. I
wanted it to last for as long as possible.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Six
The chicken was taking far too long to cook. That is why I
started to read a book in one hand while I stirred the
mixture in the pan with my other.
I had also been watching the darkness take over the sky and
cast a shadow on the apartment buildings across the street.
That was until Lana had called.
I had expected her to call as soon as we got back from the
beach. I could tell there was something off about her since
then.
My phone laid on the kitchen table and on speaker as I
continued to mess around with the food.
Lana's voice came from across the speaker loud and slightly
muffled "It is so awkward. You do not understand. When it
comes to small talk, we are okay. Then we get to deeper and
more intimate, and it goes to a mess. We have to put so
much work in romantically."
"Have you talked to Brennan about this?"
She gasped like the idea was absurd.
"I love Brennan. He is perfect." She said as if she was talking
about something as normal as the weather "I do not want to
lose him and I would if I mentioned how I was feeling."
"What about how you are feeling?" I asked her.
"I can’t just tell him that I think we are losing our spark."
I was not exactly good at this whole relationship advice
thing. It was Lana's first relationship, so it was my first time
trying to come up with half-decent advice.
The only real experience of love I had was in books and
movies. Fictional relationships were always farfetched, so I
did not have a lot to go on. I had read as extreme as
protagonists ending up in comas or moving halfway around
the world to be with their loved one and I was not going to
recommend that to her.
"The only way to know is to have a conversation. You
deserve to be heard but Brennan also deserves to know
where he stands." I told her.
"Sometimes I..." she trailed off.
"What?" I asked gently.
She began again "Sometimes I feel Brennan is looking for
someone else. I feel like he is always seeking out for
something."
"I think you should talk to him."
She hummed and then her tone changed to concern when
she remembered something "My mom mentioned that it is
your mother's birthday tomorrow."
I stayed quiet and continued to cook the food.
"Are you going to go and see her?" Lana asked.
My plan was to not make a drama of it but I should have
expected for her to find out. Her mother had been friends
with mine for years.
I answered after a while "I am just going to visit her grave
after school."
"Ella." She said gently yet scornfully "It is your first year
without her. I don’t think you have given your self time to
fully grieve yet. Take the day off. Go and see her."
Biting my lip as I listened to her, I eyed the flowers in the
vase that I was planning to take tomorrow.
If I allowed myself to think about it too much, then I would
only break down.
I pondered over the thought that my dad would go and see
her but then my afterthought turned to him being too drunk
to know what day it was.
Shaking my head to myself, I eyed the phone and Lana's
profile picture and replied "I can’t just take the day off. I
have classes to go to."
"Ella, you already know everything." She tried to joke but
then went back to her sympathetic voice "You need to do
this for yourself."
"Okay." I finally agreed.
Lana did not sound any less concerned as she questioned
"Do you want me to stay off and go with you?"
I knew she would happily stay off and come with me if I
asked. She would drop everything in a heartbeat.
"I think this is something I need to do myself."
"Only if, you are sure." She affirmed.
"I am." I said surely "Thank you, Barbie."
She giggled at the nickname "Anything for you, Freak show.
Now I better go before my dad starts shouting at me for not
going down for dinner."
"Love you. Bye" I replied before ending her call.
Just as I was about to stir the pan again, a knock came from
the front door.
I was not expecting anyone, and it left me hoping that it was
not my dad.
I wanted it to be the large leather jacket-wearing nerd at the
door, so I hesitantly walked down the hall and hoped for the
best.
A small sigh of relief escaped me as I opened the door and
found the giant taking up all the space at the doorway.
The relief did not last long as for a good minute we just
stood there looking at one another.
Stone did not say anything. He just stood there holding onto
the doorframe with a look of determination.
After a while longer, I broke the silence with a little wave
"Hello."
He did not say anything in reply. Instead of speaking, he
barged right past me and into the apartment. It was with
such confidence that I almost forgot that I was the one living
there and not him.
Remembering that I still had the stove on, I closed the door
behind him and walked back to the kitchen.
I had my back to him, but I know he was there. Not because
of his footsteps but because of the feeling in my stomach.
For such a tall and broad person, he did not make any noise
at all.
He was the silent killer type.
While taking the food off the stove, I finally faced him "You
are like a stray. I have fed you once and you will not stop
coming back."
Stone still did not speak. He just remained stood a few feet
away and towering over me. The skull tattoo on his hand
was staring at me too as his hand twitched.
It was like he was restraining himself.
I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his
gaze "You are here so much that I am really considering
giving you my spare key."
It was too silent. Even for him.
I was starting to worry so I tried to tease further "I am
starting to think that you are like an evil spirit haunting my
house. I will have to say Beetlejuice three times."
A small smile started to make its way onto his face, but he
still did not talk.
I finally just asked him straight up "What made you come
here?"
He stalked closer. I focused on his movement as he took
large steps to me.
The closeness brought a wave of excitement to take over
my body and the only thoughts I had at that moment were
about him.
I felt like screaming Just kiss me already.
The giant knew me so well because that is exactly what he
did.
His mesmerising obsidian eyes kept me grounded as he
cupped my face. When he slammed his lips to mine, I
gasped.
I felt my toes curl at his satisfied groan. That and I had to
bend my feet to try and reach his height.
Stone's large hands drifted through my hair and then back
to my face. He tightened his hold on my face as his tongue
slipped further past my lips.
The moment muddled my thoughts. So much that I did not
feel myself being lifted until I was off the ground. Gripping
my butt, he lifted me and placed me on the counter.
The same counter as last time when we nearly kissed.
I let out a breath as I tilted my head upwards and gave him
better access.
As I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around
the back of his neck, he let out a deep sound of approval.
He pulled back slightly and rested his forehead on mine. His
lip twitched again mine and then he smiled. It was the
biggest smile I had seen from him, and it was magnificent.
I was gasping for air when I whispered onto his lips "The
kitchen counter is where the magic happens. I think you
have a thing for them."
He chuckled against my mouth as he left a quick kiss on my
lips.
His eyes narrowed with sureness and gleamed with
possessiveness as he assured "No. I just have a thing for
you."
I pulled back slightly to see him better but still not removing
my legs from his waist or my arms around the back of his
neck.
"I am obsessed with you, Ella." He said lowly "I could not
leave the conversation at the beach like that."
My jaw did not get the chance to drop neither did my
heartbeat get a chance to lower.
I could not even show my disbelief at what he was saying
because he lowered his head and began trailing kisses along
my jawline.
His mouth went from my jaw to my ear and then to the
corner of my lip. I twined my hands around the back of his
neck and dragged him closer, so he was fully tasting me. He
took over immediately and dominated the kiss.
I closed my eyes as his tongue once again slipped past my
lips and danced with mine. My hands with their minds of
their own gripped his hair. His own hands roamed, one
remained cupping my cheek and the other went past my
hair and then to the back of my neck.
I felt centred to him. Like two magnets or an object in a
gravitational field.
We pulled back and I let my head rest on his chest. The
scent enveloped me. The familiar smell of engine grease,
leather and aftershave circled me.
I inhaled him as I wound my hands around his bulky chest,
so I was hugging him.
Both of his hands cupped my face as I smiled.
"I like you." I felt the need to say again before adding "And it
takes a lot for me to recognise what I am feeling so you
should count yourself lucky."
"I am lucky, Ella."
My smile turned to a grin.
I then went on to question, "What did you want to say to me
at the beach?"
He raised a brow "Did the kiss not speak for itself?"
"I don't know." I taunted “You might have to do it again. Just
to make sure the message is crystal clear."
The giant leaned closer and pecked the side of my mouth
before whispering darkly "You wicked girl, you know exactly
what I am trying to say."
I was still unsure what his intentions were. A probing feeling
like a knife poked at my insides like a warning.
The thing about Stone was that he never asked for anything
from me. He never made it clear what he wanted. It always
seemed like it was enough for him to be even just around
me. Like he was content with the bare minimum.
I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind and reminded
myself to resurface them later.
Smiling at him while playing with the zip on his jacket, I
asked shyly "Do you want to stay?"
He kept his thumb against my cheek as he pushed some
hair behind my ear.
"I was going to watch Addams Family." I suggested to him
"You could stay."
Stone grumbled while checking the time on his watch. "I
can't, Medusa."
I nodded and let my gaze lower away from him.
His hand went to under my chin, and he moved my head so
that I was looking at him again.
"I want to." He rasped before cursing "Fuck, I want to, but I
can't."
I nodded and offered him a small smile.
He appeared deep in thought like he was contemplating
something as he watched me.
"You should go." I waved him off "It is okay. I will finish
reading Jane Eyre."
He smirked after a few minutes "Little nerd."
I rolled my eyes before proclaiming "There is nothing better
than rereading a good book."
"Even this?" He asked deeply and determinedly before he
descended back onto my lips.
I responded back before pulling away and smiling. I still had
my eyes closed when I giggled "Still debatable."
Stone let out a tenacious growl before lifting me off the
counter and up so that he could kiss me while I was
wrapped around him.
He kissed me harshly yet softly. His huge, calloused hands
were capable of soft delicate touches. He treated me like he
yearned for me, but he also treated me as if I was
something precious that he did not want to break. It was a
perfect balance of both.
He proved that there was something way better than
reading.
We stayed in our little bubble in the kitchen for what felt like
a small infinity. However, it seemed nowhere near long
enough.
He left begrudgingly when his phone went off, running away
into the night like some vigilante, leaving me flustered and
dizzied by him.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The flowers' stem was going to snap. I was clutching onto
the bouquet tightly as I exited my apartment building. The
look of the white flowers made me feel a little nauseous.
Every year on my mother's birthday, we would sit and watch
old reruns of random shows and eat junk. I had inhibited my
bad habit from her.
I would do anything to go back to the time where I could do
that with her. A time with her.
The fresh air hit me like a ton of bricks as I stepped out into
the street. The air came with the realisation that I was about
to visit her grave and I would have to do it completely
alone.
My black and white patterned summer dress flew a little in
the wind as I turned to head towards my car.
I took three steps down the sidewalk before I realised who
was stood there.
The well-built giant leant against his black truck as he
waited for me to near him.
Stone eyed me with the same expression I imagined Lana
had on her face last night as she called me. It was concern. I
could tell from the way his jaw was ticking in a steady
rhythm.
Taking another small quick step towards him, I motioned at
our surroundings with the blooming buds in my hand "What
are you doing here?"
His head tilted slightly as his dark eyebrow arched. His
expression gave away that he thought what I was saying
was a rhetorical question and it did not require an
explanation from him.
The leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. The hot weather
meant that Stone was wearing a short-sleeved black shirt
that showed off his muscled tattoo arms.
I made the point of asking again "What are you doing here?"
"I am here for you."
"This is not Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I tried to add humour to
the conversation before I informed him "I am visiting my
mom's grave."
The obsidians eyes softened, and he even tried to lessen the
deepness of his voice as he spoke "I know."
"How?" I asked, shocked.
"Lana was telling Brennan last night about how she was
worried about you." He explained before adding "For once I
was grateful for them speaking so fucking loud."
"That still does not answer my question." I pointed out as
straightened out the skirt part of my dress "What are you
doing here, Stone?"
He opened the door to the passenger side of the truck as he
kept his attention on me "I thought you might need
someone."
The words were enough to put a small smile on my face. I
could feel the side of my lip tug up at the fact that he was
worried enough to drive here and offer me a ride.
I walked the remainder of the space between myself and
him. Before I could get into his truck, he stopped me by
offering his hand out.
"I am not that small." I mentioned but I took his hand
anyway and let him help me up onto the seat.
My skin felt a surge of electricity before he let go of my
hand and rounded the car so he could join me inside.
Staring at the side of his head, I shyly let out "Thank you."
He pulled out of the parking space and quickly glanced at
me before reversing "What for?"
"For being here." I elaborated "I would have been fine on my
own, but I guess your company is appreciated." 
Stone let his head fall back for a second to let out a deep
laugh "That sounded like it caused you pain to say."
Joining with his laughter, I shrugged "I guess I'm not used to
all of this niceness between us."
He glanced at me as he chuckled before shifting the
gearstick.
"It is kind of nice." I admitted before I joked "Although, I
really do not want to stop insulting you. I still have a few
good comebacks in me."
"I do not doubt it."
The sun shone down on both of us, and I felt the warmth
start to crawl to my face. I felt like I could not breathe. I was
starting to think that going to the graveyard was not such a
good idea.
Even the thought was enough to make me panic. I did not
like to confront things that made me feel too deeply.
Hence, my denial of the dark enigma that was seated
beside me. I knew something was there but I was still
unsure what. I thought that ignoring the feeling I had with
him meant that it would eventually go away.
That was still my philosophy for going forward with him.
"Medusa." Stone called gently to break me out of my
daydream "Where about is the cemetery?"
It took me a minute to realise what he was saying and when
I did, I muttered "It is Willow Cemetery. Just off the road that
is near that big gas station."
He nodded before his concerned eyes wandered down to my
leg. I followed his gaze and found that I had not realised
that my own leg was shaking violently.
I put my hand down on my knee and tried to calm down the
tremors as I took a deep breath in and out.
Stone did not mention it but it looked like my uneasiness
bothered him. His attention switched between the road and
my shaking leg as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.
"So why green, Medusa?" He asked, obviously changing the
subject.
I let out a breath "What do you mean?"
"Your hair." He said before questioning "Why did you choose
to dye it green?"
"I don't really know. I have always been fascinated by the
colour. I guess the colour green symbolises nature and
energy. “I tried to come up with a reason better than telling
him that just liking the colour.
My eyes widened when I realised that energy and nature
had no correlations to me at all.
"Oh my god. Green is not even my colour." I shared with him
"None of those things represent me. I don't leave my house
to enjoy nature and the only kind of energy I require is to
change the channel on the remote or turn over a page in a
book."
Stone found my little outburst amusing because he rubbed
his jaw as a small smile graced his features.
"Green is definitely your colour." He stated before explaining
"It is not just your hair. It is your whole aura. You shine
green."
The rest of the drive went by quickly with traded insults and
a few backward compliments. His company almost erased
the building up of dread in my stomach.
He also stopped my leg from shaking by putting a hand on
top of my thigh. His generously sized hand squeezed the
skin on my thigh in reassurance.
I laid my hand on top of his that rested on my leg for a short
second before he had to pull away and drive with both
hands.
The truck pulled up at the start of the dirt trail pathway
leading up to the cemetery. I took my seatbelt off and
avoided the penetrating gaze as I focused on the forest of
tombstones.
As I clutched the door handle to get out, he stopped me in
my tracks by putting an arm on my shoulder to make me
face him.
His voice was low and gravelly "Do you want me to come
with you?"
I shook my head once and I gave him a small smile "I will be
fine."
Stone had already gone out of his way to drive me to the
cemetery. I was not going to make him sit with me as I
sulked. That would be weird, no matter how much I wanted
him there.
He nodded once and looked anywhere but me as I climbed
out of the truck.
Willow Cemetery was a large graveyard outside of the city
with a number of about fifty thousand people buried there.
Sometimes you would see relatives of the deceased scurry
the rows of graves just to find their loved ones in the vast
space.
Fortunately, I did not have that problem. My mother's grave
was under the very namesake of this whole place which was
the willow tree at the very start of the green land.
A shadow was cast over me as I walked under the great
leaves of the tree. I kneeled down on the damp grass and
placed the flowers next to the headstone.
They managed to brighten up the small space and I admired
the beauty of them as I ran my finger along the engrained
words.
Lauren Miller.
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist,
that is all.
Beloved Wife, Mother and Friend.
A lone tear made its way down my cheek. I wiped it away
quickly because something behind the memorial caught my
eye.
An empty bottle of alcohol. More specifically whisky. The
kind that my Dad drunk.
He came and visited her at least. Just not in his normal state
of my mind. I told myself that bad company was worse than
no company at all to remind myself to not to be too
disheartened at his absence.
The trees rustled and the birds sang a sad song as I sat
there for a while watching the leaves sway back and
forward.
Then the sounds of nature were not the only thing I heard.
A person's faint footsteps became louder and louder until a
body sat down next to me. A large bulky body.
Stone never said anything. He did not have to. My fingers
that were resting on the ground, interlinked with his as he
reached for me. Warmth spread through me and travelled
from the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my toes.
He finally spoke after a while. His voice was soft. As soft as
his deep scary voice could go as he read her gravestone To
live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is
all
"Your mother liked Oscar Wilde?" He asked after recognising
the quotes.
If the circumstances were different, then I would tease him
for being a nerd.
"No. She didn’t." I replied with a laugh "We had this joke
between us. She always said that when she died, she
wanted something written by a famous writer on her
gravestone. She wanted to appear smart, sophisticated and
well read."
"That sounds like something you would do."
"Excuse me. I am well read." I feigned a gasp before I
mentioned "Although, I didn’t think I would want a quote
from someone else on my grave. I would want to write my
own words."
He offered me a small smile "Like what?"
"I don't know." I said before thinking about it "Something
funny like Dear Ghosts, you are not ready for the mean
green machine."
"It is original anyway." He replied like he was holding back
another chuckle, but his slight smile dipped when he noticed
the empty glass bottle behind the gravestone.
Any hint of playfulness from him was completely gone and
now replaced with worry.
"It is my dad's." I stated the obvious "I guess he was not
drunk enough to forget her birthday."
My hand dwarfed his as he held on tighter. He applied more
pressure to my fingers.
"Everything has just fallen apart," I voiced "And I do not
know how to fix it."
The soft tone disappeared from the giant's voice as he
demanded to know roughly "Did he ever hurt you?"
Quickly shaking my head, I answered him "He has never
hurt me."
"That night at your house you were crying..."
The truth about the bottle being thrown was on my tongue
but I swallowed it back. Stone appeared murderous and as if
he was about to start a riot if he found out something did
happen to me.
I did not want to make him angry, so I told him part of the
truth.
"My dad would not hurt me. Even if he wanted to." I spoke
and avoided his eye as I did so "The night that you came
around was when I kicked him out. He said that I was the
one that killed my mother. It was the same words he said to
me at her funeral, and it was all a painful reminder."
Stone closed his eyes and exhaled before he gently pulled
me closer to him, so my side was pressed against his.
"It was not your fault, Ella."
"What if it was?" I asked as I tilted my head upwards to look
at him "The worst thing about her death was the not
knowing. I hate being kept in the dark."
He put his arm around me and made sure I was leaning
against his sturdy frame as he kissed the top of my head.
I looked up at him in shock.
"It was not your fault." He repeated, "I promise, Baby."
"How do you know that?" I said more to myself, knowing
that there was no answer he could give me.
He did answer and his voice went hoarse as he did so. The
words felt direct and like an uncovered veracity.
"I know because I can’t imagine someone ever wanting to
get away from you." He said lowly against my hair.
The rest of the visit went by silently. He never said anything
more. He just held my hand.
Even his presence brought a sensation of security. Just by
him being there was enough for me to feel less alone.
He never let go of me until we got back to the truck.
We decided to stop off at a diner not far from the cemetery
on the way back.
Stone mentioned that he was hungry. It led to my train of
thought turning to how much he ate. He always seemed to
be eating but I guess one did not get to his humongous size
without eating a lot.
The small rectangular building was empty. It was an
abandoned diner in the middle of nowhere and had the
same vibe as the ice cream place but with fewer neon
features.
The small booth at the back of the restaurant was where we
both sat opposite each other. Our position face to face
meant that there was no way to hide from his questions.
"You should tell Lana about your dad." He insisted "She
would want to be there for you."
I took a long sip of my cola and then answered him "I don't
need help. There is nothing to help. Everything is fine."
All he said in the form of a harsh breath was "Medusa."
Turning the conversation to him, I spoke "Tell me more about
you and your parents. I doubt they were as eccentric
drinkers as my father."
"My dad never drank." Stone replied, "He was a boxer back
in the day."
"Really?" I said, wanting to know more about him.
"He would take me to his gym every Saturday. He was the
one to try and help me control my anger."
"You are intimidating, and I have seen grown men look like
they are about to pee themselves when speaking to you,
but I have never seen you unleash your anger." I told him.
He nodded "It is not something I plan to ever let you see. I
do not want you to see that side of me."
"Did your dad's teaching not work?"
"I learned how to control it after years of training as a kid
but then they died, and it went to shit." He replied bluntly.
Studying him, I tried to think back to a time that he acted
violently. I could not think of any. Sure, he was threatening
at times, but he never acted on it.
That reminded me that I still had not gotten to the bottom of
how he got his black eye so I asked him "How do you control
your anger now?"
Stone did not answer. He avoided my eye and looked out
the window with a clenched jaw.
I took the hint and chose to change the subject “What about
your mom? What was she like?"
"She was passionate about everything. She was a librarian."
He mentioned before explaining "That is how I make sense
of your nerdy references."
"Yeah right." I scoffed "You are so a nerd. You are the only
person that does not look at me like I have grown a second
head when I speak about books. You are just as big as a
reader as I am."
He sat back in his chair with a small smirk as he
nonchalantly rebutted "I am just interested in what you
have to say."
I hummed to show my disbelief.
Then I suddenly remembered the previous conversation and
I felt the need to reassure him "You know that if I had to
name the top ten-character traits of you, aggressive would
not be one of them."
His expression showed genuine disbelief and he almost
appeared happy at my confession.
"However," I began with a sweet smile "Annoying ass would
definitely make the list."
Shaking his head, he let out a deep laugh from his chest.
"I do not see you as violent." I revealed to make sure he
knew that I did not feel scared of him "Even with the whole
scary yet hot thing you have going on."
His taunting smirk grew, and my eyes widened when I
realised what I had said.
I looked down at the table and wished that I had the ability
to teleport.
Once I noticed a young guy was approach us, I pointed to
him and blurted out "Food!"
The waiter put the two plates of food that we ordered in
front of us but lingered at the edge of the table after he was
finished serving them.
My attention went to him, and I noticed he seemed oddly
fascinated by me.
He looked to be around about the same age as me with a
boyish face and naturally bright blonde hair. He had on an
apron and under that a Harry Potter t-shirt with the
Hogwarts house Hufflepuff. 
"Thank you." I spoke out of genuine gratitude and to fill the
awkward silence as he continued to stare at me.
The waiter shook his head and smiled "I’m sorry for staring.
It is just that... you are very pretty."
Instantaneously for some reason, I looked to Stone and not
the flatterer.
He was gritting his teeth and I could see from the other side
of the table that his jawbone was clenched tightly. He was
not looking at me, however. He was glaring at the waiter
darkly like somehow the poor boy would disintegrate under
his hateful watch.
I believed that Stone could get rid of the boy in one snap of
his fingers. The waiter looked like a twig compared to the
muscled man across from me.
Finally, I dragged my attention back to the waiter and
smiled with flushed cheeks at the random compliment
"Thanks. I am not—"
The intruder cut me off just as I was about to shut down his
attempts at flirting.
Waiter boy directed his entrance to the trenching looking
guy who had arms crossed like a bodyguard "I am sorry. I
did not know she was taken."
"She is." Stone growled.
The waiter was a fine example of someone that looked like
they had peed their pants from the darkened gaze of the
giant. He sprinted away but not before he sent me a small
apologetic smile.
Stone did not look happy. He looked vicious as he watched
the waiter run back into the kitchen.
"Hey!" I said, "What if I wanted to make friends with him?"
"Fuck that." He growled.
"He had a Harry Potter shirt on." I mentioned, "He is a nerd
and I like nerds."
He looked like wanted to say something, but he kept quiet.
I took a bite of my pizza and then noticed that the giant had
not turned back to friendly so I asked, "What has got your
underwear in a twist, Lurch?"
"You smiled at him." He gritted out.
"You are mad because I smiled at him?"
His exposed tattoo arms crossed as he nodded.
"I was just trying to be nice because he paid me a
compliment." I told him before adding "You did not have to
scare him away like that."
The huge shoulders did not relax, and he shook his head in
disgust "He is an idiot."
I took another bite of food and shot him a confused look.
At my confused expression, he elaborated "He called you
pretty."
"He is an idiot for calling me pretty?" I asked, trying not to
feel bad about myself.
"Pretty is such a weak word. People think that the view from
the pier is pretty or the reflection from the sun on the sea is
pretty." Stone scoffed "You...You are fucking enchanting."
The waiter's complement felt like nothing. Not compared to
that. His was everything.
Once I could say for certain that my face had lost its
redness, I teased "Do you want me to call over the waiter
again and you can explain that to him?"
"Fuck no." He snarled.
I got back to trying to eat the content on my plate. The
portion was large, but I was going to give it my best shot.
Just because I was small did not mean that I could not eat a
lot.
Stone was smirking at my determined face and the size of
my pizza.
"What are you so smug about, Lurch?" I asked
"Medusa, there is no way you are finishing that."
"I can handle a twelve inch." I defended.
He rose a brow as his lip moved up infinitesimally.
"Oh no." I covered my face in embarrassment "That
sounded so bad."
A deep chuckle was heard from him.
"Shut up!" I replied and pouted "I was talking about my
ability to eat the pizza which on second thought, I might not
be able to."
Chuckling was heard again from the other side of the table.
"Just because I am not a massive giant with a massive
appetite." I said back lamely while pointing to his own
banquet on his plate "I hope you lose all your muscle and let
yourself go when you are older."
"You would think you would be nicer on our first date."
"This is not a date." I scoffed and crossed my arms "This is
like an anti-date. If this was a date between us, which I am
not saying that it is, I would have ordered garlic bread with
garlic sauce just so my breath was so bad that you would
not attempt to kiss me."
Shrugging, his face was full of amusement "I would just
order it too so we would not have anything stopping us."
"How charming," I remarked while holding back a laugh
"Speaking of charming. If this was a date, I would be
expecting to be wooed with some great pick-up lines."
Stone had nothing to say to that
I waved him off before assuring "It is fine, Lurch. I have
some amazing nerdy pick-up lines and lucky for me, you are
a book nerd."
He gave me his undivided attention as I cleared my throat
and smiled at him.
"Are you a library book?" I asked before adding "Because I
can’t stop checking you out."
Silence filled the air.
"It is fine. I have got more." I finished a bit of pizza before
saying another "My favourite place to be is between the
covers. Join me?"
He looked to be containing a laugh "These are getting
worse."
I frowned before saying my ultimate nerdy pick-up line "Boy,
you like a best seller, and I am like a book. I could be on you
for weeks."
"Consider me seduced." He deadpanned, obviously not
meaning it.
"Fine then." I resulted to before smiling sweetly "I will get
the waiter back and see if he likes my pickup lines."
"No." Stone growled "You will not."
"Did you like them then?" I asked, my smile turning
triumphant.
"Yes."
"I knew those lines would do it for you, nerd" I asserted
"Now if this was a date, this would be the time that if I did
not feel it between us, I would go to the bathroom. As you
tell me every day, I am small. I would fit right through the
bathroom window and make my escape."
"And if you are feeling it?" He questioned.
"Then I would stay."
We had continued our smart remarks back and forward like
a tennis match until I was trying to devour my way through
the last bit of pizza.
I decided to ask him more about himself because I wanted
to know, and it because it was an anti-data "So do you think
you will run a mechanics shop after school?"
"I doubt I will leave Mike's." Stone replied, "The old man is
good company."
"Yeah, he seems pretty cool. Cool and meddling." I said as I
recalled the whole plot against me to reveal my name "How
long have you known him?"
"Five years."
"Five years?" I repeated, "That means you have been
working with him since you were barely a teenager."
He nodded "I have always been a damn good mechanic."
"I will give you that." I begrudgingly admitted, "Kermit is
running smoother than ever."
"So, what about you?"
"What about me?" I asked, confused.
He smirks "What does Drizella Miller, The Mean Green
Machine, plan for herself?"
I find myself rolling my eyes at him quoting me on from
earlier that day.
"I would love to teach literature. So, I will probably go to
college and study English." I answered "I want to meet
someone and settle down. Start a family. The whole nine
yards."
Stone smiled but it seemed more to himself. The smile felt
secretive.
"Did you not say you wanted to write a book?" He
remembered.
"Maybe in the future." I replied, "I am struggling to find
inspiration."
"Surely you have something, Medusa."
"I could always write about an evil dictator called Balentine
Bone." I suggested while giggling.
He pretended to scowl at my remark and the weird twist on
his name.
"Is he the love interest in the story?" Stone asked after a
few seconds of silence.
I breathed out "He was meant to be the heroine's
antagonist. Her acqenemy."
His head cocked to the side and his rough sounding voice
spoke up "I can't see why he can’t be both."
"Neither can I." I admitted quietly so that he could not hear
it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I missed Stone.
The hollowness hit me harder as I glanced behind my
shoulder at his vacant seat in the English classroom.
He had not been at school all day and I was starting to get
worried.
In first period, Lana commented about my sulking which I
replied with a fake grin and telling her that I did not care.
It turned out that I did care a lot. I cared that I did not have
him to talk to about books or even to talk to about things as
casual as the weather. I cared that he was not here to make
me laugh or to challenge me in class. I cared that I did not
feel his eyes on me or that I did not have the feeling that
came along with his dark gaze.
Lana put a hand over the pencil that I had no idea that I was
tapping
"What has got you so agitated?" She asked.
With a sigh, I told her "I feel unfulfilled."
Her face contorted to a confused expression as she raised a
perfect blonde eyebrow "Why?"
Biting my pencil in the corner of my mouth, I thought of the
best way to put it without sounding like I missed the giant. A
way that she would not interpret as me sulking.
"It is just that I land some great blow to his ego in English." I
explained, "I usually come up with great book-centred
insults and references and he is not even here to hear
them."
I cursed Stone in my mind. He would definitely revel if he
knew what I was talking about. He would have something to
tease me about.
"So, you miss him?" Lana asked with a large smile "I guess it
is true what they say. Distance makes the heart grow
fonder."
"No!" I exclaimed too quickly. Quickly enough that it
sounded fake and an utter lie.
An even larger grin grew on her face as she said "You are
such a little liar! Just admit it. You like Stone."
I crossed my arms and looked over at Mr Dankworth's board
lesson as I muttered "I guess a little but that is only when he
is not here, and I can’t hear him."
"So, if you don't like him, I guess you would not be
interested in knowing why him and Brennan are not at
school..."
"I am kind of interested." I admitted instantly after she said
it.
Lana covered her hand as she giggled "I don't actually know
where they are. All I know is that you are a bit too keen to
know where a guy that you supposedly don't have feelings
for is."
"And I know that you are getting a bit too good at sneakily
getting things out of people." I rebutted.
A shrug was her reply before she voiced "I have learned
from the best. All that time spent with you."
Sticking my tongue out at her, I then asked, "So you really
don't know where they both are?"
"No. I don't." She replied, shaking her head "Brennan did not
even tell me that he was staying off today."
The shift between Lana and Brennan's relationship had
become way more noticeable. It was no longer rainbows and
butterflies between them. The honeymoon phase for them
was over.
She sat forward in her seat with a small, frustrated groan "I
don't even know what his favourite colour is."
I bit my lip to try and to hide my amusement "I don't think
that matters, Lana. Unless you are kindergarten then it is
life altering."
Her frown did not turn upside down as she explained "It
does not matter how small something is. It is about getting
to know the person. It counts because every small thing
about them adds up to a bigger picture."
"But favourite colour?" I repeated, unconvinced "It does not
reveal any person's thoughts or intentions."
She swivelled around in her chair, so her body was facing
me as she interrogated "What is Stone's favourite colour?"
"What is the point in this?"
"Just answer the question." She insisted.
"Black." I answered but then I thought about what he would
say if he was there "But he would not say that. He would
probably say fairytale green to annoy me."
"See. Colours tell you a lot about a person." She pointed at
me like her point had been made "He would say his
favourite colour is that because it reminds him of you."
"That is not what I meant—" I began to argue but I was cut
off.
Mr Dankworth stood at the very centre of the front of the
class and waved his dramatically "It is time for another
assignment. Which will be carried out in pairs."
The whole class groaned but he continued "In your pairs,
you will get to really know each other. Learn everything
about that person and write it down in a five-hundred-word
essay. Five hundred words is not a lot, so I am expecting
every word to count for something."
Lana whispered, "When was five hundred words not a lot?"
Getting a list from his desk, Mr Dankworth told the class "I
have already decided the pairs before you start looking
around the room for a partner."
He started calling names for the pairs, but Lana and I were
only listening for our own.
We started to tune in more as he read the last couple of
names "Chase and Daniel. Brennan and Michael. Mandy and
Lana..."
At that, Lana let out a small groan "Why do I always end up
getting Mandy as a partner? She does nothing."
The final pairs got called out even more dramatically by the
over-the-top English teacher "Finally the last couple is Stone
and Ella."
I regretted telling the universe that I missed him.
The next conversation with the smug skyscraper was going
to be an interesting one. I could already imagine his smirk
when I would have to tell him that we had to work together.
When the class went back to work, Mr Dankworth caught my
attention by waving.
Then he did something odd. He put his thumbs up. It was
like he was giving me a sign for some secret mission.
I thought that I was maybe imagining it until Lana
commented on it.
"Looks like Mr Dankworth is trying to set you up with Stone."
She giggled "You are right, Ella. He is a very smart man."
Scowling at her, we packed up our bags at the sound of the
bell.
Lana started humming the song she had been writing for a
while now. Her voice filled the corridor as we hurried to our
lockers.
While she was busy putting her combination into the lock, I
leaned against my own locker and took my phone out.
There was no hesitation in my fingers when my phone lit up
with an incoming call from Stone.
I pressed accept before bringing the phone to my ear and
greeting him "You rang, Lurch?"
"Medusa." The deep guttural voice greeted back.
"Why are you not at school?" I tried to make the question
seem nonchalant, but my tone came out as worried.
"Are you missing me, Medusa?"
I smiled to myself before rebutting "You would know if you
were here."
"If I was there then you wouldn't miss me." The grumble of a
voice rebutted.
"True."
I slapped my forehead and let out a groan as soon as the
word left my mouth.
"What I meant was that if I was missing you then it would
true." I tried to cover up my previous mistake by rambling
on "Which it is not. It is not true because I don't miss you—"
"Drizella." The rough husky voice of the man on the other
end of the line uttered "Do you have your arms crossed or is
your hand running through your hair?"
One of my hands was holding my phone and the other was
tangled in my green hair.
I untwisted a strand of my hair that had been wrapped
around my finger and sighed.
"I was so not doing that!" I blurted.
"Of course, you were not, Medusa."
I huffed out my question "How did you know?"
He chuckled but he did not answer.
"You are such a stalker." I told him while I leant my back
against my locker "Do you just sit and watch me?"
The gravelly voice was unapologetic and blunt when he
grumbled "Yes."
I felt a smile take over my face as I rebutted "I think you are
the one that misses me, Valentine."
There was no reply from him for a while. A few minutes
passed and all I could hear through the phone was deep
breaths.
"Hello?" I said into the phone.
"I am working late tonight." He stated gruffly before
demanding "Come to the garage."
I hummed before telling him "Say please and I will consider
it."
"Come to the garage." He ordered again.
"Fine. If I must, demanding ass." I let out after a second or
two "Just know that I'm not happy about it."
Stone chuckled before uttering lowly "Get your hand out of
your hair and stop being such a little liar."
My green hair was wrapped around my middle finger, so I
dropped my left hand to my side.
I let out an aggravated noise before I said a quick bye and
hung up on him.
Lana closed her locker and turned to me while asking "Who
were you on the phone to?"
"Nobody." I muttered quickly.
"So, you are just beaming ear to ear for no reason?" She
replied, unconvinced.
A slam on the lockers made us both jump.
I swivelled to face the noise and found the blonde
quarterback leaning against my locker.
Offering the intruder, a polite smile, I greeted him "Hey
Chase."
He nodded at Lana before he spoke to me "I just wanted to
tell you that I might not be able to take you to the fall ball
next week."
"Oh no," I sarcastically remarked because there was no way
I wanted to go anyway "How come?"
The quarterback revealed dramatically "Litora Bello is
having its biggest night yet."
I could tell he was saying something in Latin, but I had no
idea what he was talking about, so I gave him a confused
look.
"Litora Bello?" I repeated, "It sounds like a cheese festival."
"It is the beach fight club as you like to call it." Chase
replied, "The big fight night is on the same date as the fall
ball."
His jock buddy Kyle appeared from nowhere and butted into
the conversation "There is also a big fight happening right
now instead of tonight. I can't believe we are missing it—"
"The local fighters are shit." Chase scoffed "Even the
almighty Vulcan got a blow to the face on Sunday night."
Kyle shook his head and corrected him with a look of
admiration on his face "Vulcan still won. He always does. His
opponent was one of the best fighters in Nevada, but Vulcan
still destroyed him."
Their talking became background noise. I was too busy
rolling my eyes and making funny faces at Lana to listen to
their conversation.
Lana glanced between them and acted as if she was
interested "So the Litora Bello thing happens at our beach
every night? This whole big fight club thing that everyone is
raving about happens so near to home?"
Both of the boys nodded, and Kyle appeared like he was
going to say more but he could not as the warning bell rang
out among the halls.
The noise signalling the start of the period made them say
their goodbyes and saunter away.
Lana put her arms around my shoulder as we made our way
towards French "So you want to do something after school?"
"I can't." I said and then apologised "Are you not going out
with Loverboy? I am sure he is free."
She shook her head while grinning "I think you know that
Brennan will be free because you are going to be taking up
Stone's time."
I slapped her head playfully before downright lying "I don't
have feelings Stone!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Mike was rolling a massive tire out of the building as I
parked Kermit on the side of the road.
He was standing right under the shop's logo with his big,
animated face plastered on it. An image of a grumpy
animated Stone in its place interrupted my thoughts and
made me laugh to myself as I stepped out of the car.
The old mechanic stopped himself and the tire once he
spotted me.
He waved with a friendly smile on his face "Hello again,
Ella."
I walked over to him, matching his smile "Hey Mike. What
are you up to?"
He tapped the large tire before lifting it up and onto the
back of his pick-up truck. It looked heavy and by the look on
Mike's face, I would say he was struggling.
After taking a large breath, he told me "I have got to deliver
these tires to another shop down the coast. I have not sat
down today. Business is booming."
"That is great." I commented before I asked, "Would you like
some help loading up the tires?"
Mike shook his head "Stone would not like that. He would
not allow something that means a chance of you getting
hurt."
I had no idea what to respond so I instead assured "I
promise that I’ll not keep Stone long."
"Oh no." Mike put his hands up dramatically "You stay as
long as you want. You are always welcome. Stone is in there
waiting for you. I would love to stay and see his longing face
light up, but I better get going."
Awkwardly laughing at that, I gave him a wave "I will see
you later."
After placing the last tire into the back of the truck, he
climbed into the driver seat and said “See you some other
time, Ella. Also, if he starts slacking off work, you get him
told."
"Do not worry." I promised before walking inside "I will."
The small green building only had one car inside. A silver
sports car was situated in the middle of the room with its
hood up as the giant fixed whatever was wrong with it.
Stone turned something inside the car, and I was transfixed
watching him. My eyes were glued to his arms as the veins
bulged out of his muscles.
He shut the hood of the car and chuckle which made me
jump out of my skin.
"How did you know I was here?" I asked.
"Medusa, you make a lot of noise for such a small person."
"Whatever."
His bulky arm went up and rubbed some grease off his
forehead as he spoke roughly " Are you not going to express
how much you missed me?"
Tutting at his cockiness, I crossed my arms "I was taught it is
bad to lie, Lurch."
Stone stepped forward. It was only one step, but I know
what he is doing. It was like an animal playing with its food
before it pounced.
He motioned to my arms "What you were not taught was
how to hide your lying."
"Excuse me?" I asked, tightening my hold around myself.
The large hands grab mine in his before he raises them
above my head. He then took both of my wrists in one of his
hands as his other palm rested on my stomach as he spun
me around. His warm breath was felt on my neck as he
pressed up behind me.
"Like I told you earlier," He let out lowly against my earlobe
"You either cross your arms or play with your hair when you
lie."
I tilted my head upwards to meet his eyes.
"You did miss me." He stated.
My head shook violently as I tried to deny it. I tried to argue
against something that I was obviously lying about. My
whole body was screaming out the truth. That I had missed
him.
I blinked and he had rounded me. My hands dropped to the
side as he sent me a malicious smirk.
That was before he picked me off the ground.
My legs dangled as I was lifted into the air. The height
difference meant that I had no other option but to wrap my
legs around his waist.
That was what I told myself. I used that reasoning to cover
up the fact that I was very content with where I was.
I punched his chest lightly as I questioned "What are you
doing?"
It was strange to be at face level with him. I usually had to
lean on my toes or nearly break my neck trying to look up at
him.
I liked the view from up there, wrapped around the giant. I
could study his expression better.
His hard defined facial features showed that he was serious
when he proclaimed, "I am not letting you down until you
admit that you missed me."
"Well, it is a good thing you have got large muscles because
I’m not admitting that any time soon." I declared stubbornly.
He did not do anything. Except move his hands to my hips
as he studied me.
Minutes later and we were still in the same position.
It did look like any of one of us was planning to move
anytime soon. We were as stubborn as each other.
It took every ounce of strength to restrain myself from
reaching out to him. To touch him. I liked everything about
him and his stupid face.
"You missed English today." I quietly voiced "We got set a
new assignment to write an essay about your partner. Mr
Dankworth assigned the pairs and my unlucky self got put
with you."
Stone chuckled and I felt the vibrations from his chest ripple
through me.
"It is good to get your thoughts on paper, Medusa." He
teased in his taunting tone "If you write it down, you might
be able to stop thinking about me."
I was too busy getting lost in him that I never thought about
what I was saying.
The words flowed out me smoothly and slowly "Do you want
me to stop thinking about you?"
His expression was not like anything I had ever seen before.
He looked taken aback
I could only describe it as wonder that clouded his face.
Wonder that made his dark eyes look like they had stars in
them.
I wished that I had a camera to capture the moments
"No." He growled "I want every thought of yours to be about
me. Just so we are both even. Every thought of mine is
about you."
After a while of staring at his lips and digesting his words, I
caved.
I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and smiled
at him. He flicked over my lips with his thumb before he
closed the distance between our mouths.
His lips kissed mine softly. It was a slow kiss that still
managed to leave me breathless. It still sent a shiver down
my spine.
He curled his fist into my hair and combed the strands as he
tilted my head and delved deeper into my taste buds.
The soft kisses were history as they were turned into white-
hot ones. Between us was passion and hunger and truth.
All weapons and armours were put down between us. There
was no way for us to fight anymore. Not when we were both
too occupied. With each other. Oxygen did not seem
essential at that moment.
I felt him moving us both, but I was too caught up in his lips
to notice where he was taking me.
He did not break away from my mouth as he sat me down
on the hard surface of the hood of the silver car. He stepped
between my legs as he kept his sweet assault on my
sensitive lips.
"I still didn't miss you." I said into his mouth as I pulled back
for a breath.
Stone left another gentle kiss on my lip as he chuckled "Of
course you did not, Medusa."
He was about to capture my mouth again, but I quickly put
my finger to his mouth and stopped him.
"I feel sorry for the poor guy whose car I am on now." I joked
as he kissed my jaw.
"I’m a mechanic." He said into the crevice of my neck as he
breathed me in "If it gets broken then I will fix it."
That was a good enough answer for me, so I let him cup my
face and bring my mouth back to his. I tilted my head and
allowed him to change the pressure of the kiss.
He kissed me like I was his salvation and that if he did not
have me then he would die.
He was darkness. From his clothes to his hair. From his eyes
to his aura. The dark was only comforting as it swallowed
me whole.
There was a certain relief about it. It was like I had let
myself be consumed by him and I could not fight it. Not
anymore.
I pulled back and rested my forehead against his.
"So, you are still not admitting that you missed me?"
"Maybe I missed you a little." I teased "Like a mouth ulcer."
Stone pulled back slightly "Like a what?"
"A mouth ulcer." I repeated before explaining "You think that
you want it gone but then when it is, it feels weird. You feel
around for it."
A husky laugh escaped him before he pecked my lips "You
are wild."
He did not move from his place against me as I asked him
"Are you planning to say off school again?"
"No."
"Good." I affirmed and then questioned, "Why were you off
today?"
At my question, he pulled back. My legs dropped from him
and nearly hit the car.
His expression was unreadable as he avoided looking at me.
He was thinking too hard about something. It was obvious
from the tension in his shoulders.
Eventually, he came up with a response "Brennan and I had
to go and see a relative."
"Is everything okay?" I asked quickly.
He nodded once.
The silence drags on until I tried to lighten the mood "Do
you ever get any work done in this place? When I am here,
it always seems like you never do anything."
His face became less serious as the right side of his lip rose.
His darkened gaze flicked over my face and the rest of me
before he admitted "It is because you are quite the
distraction, Drizella."
I smiled tauntingly before I got up from the car "Then I
guess I better leave."
He moved almost instantly by gently getting a hold of my
arm and turning me around to face him again. He grumbled
something under his breath that I could not make out. All I
knew was that he sounded determined.
"Mike warned me to tell you off if you were slacking." I
mentioned "Which you are. Making out in the workplace is
just not professional."
His lip twitched before he spoke again "Go out with me
tonight."
I hummed and tapped my chin to pretend that I was
thinking about it.
"I guess I could spare you some of my time." I told him with
a small smile "What did you have in mind?"
"I was planning to get another tattoo if you wanted to go."
My eyes widened "You want me to get a tattoo?"
"No. I want you to come with me." He replied gruffly "I will
pick you up at eight."
"Do you want me to come with you to hold your hand?" I
teased.
He chuckled and a smirk was on his face as he nodded.
I tilted my head at him "You would think that with at least
fifty-three tattoos that you would be okay with the pain."
"Fifty-three." He repeated before pointing out in his smug
tone "That is specific."
"That is the amount I counted."
The biggest grin known to man broke out onto the giant's
face as he asked amusedly "You have counted?"
My mouth opened and closed as my eyes widened.
I had been caught out.
The only thing that would have made it worse was if I
admitted how intently I had studied his tattoos. I knew that
he had fifty-three tattoos. Thirty-two large ones and the rest
slightly smaller. They all were detailed and interlinked
across his arms and chest and abs.
I did what any flustered person would do in that situation.
"Okay bye! See you at eight!" I shouted back at him as I ran
out of the garage.
The deep sound of amusement followed me to the car.
I shouted again and this time over my shoulder "I hate you
and all of your fifty-three tattoos!"
I was so mortified that I truly believed Kermit was laughing
at me too.
As I drove away from the green building and him, the
embarrassment was quickly replaced with excitement for
the upcoming night.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty
"Are you going to tell me what you're getting tattooed on
you?" I asked as I unwound my arms from his waist.
Stone got off the bike and then helped me down.
The place where his hands touched my waist as he lifted me
off the motorbike felt overly heated. His hands remained on
my waist, even after placing me on the ground.
I had a sneaky suspicious that he was trying to distract me
to avoid the question.
"Come on, Lurch." I swatted his rock-hard chest "I think I
deserve to know. I did come here with you out of the
kindness of my heart."
"Really?" He chuckled "That is not how I see it."
I understood what he meant. I reminisced on half an hour
ago when I raced down my apartment building stairs to
meet him. He commented on my eagerness to meet him,
but I responded by telling him that I had missed his
motorbike.
He seen right through my lie, and it left me wondering if he
was some sort of Ella-Expert.
"Are you going to tell me what your tattoo is going to be
of?" I asked frustratedly.
At the shake of his head and a cocky smile making its way
onto his face, I pulled back from his embrace and started to
walk away.
Not before throwing him a teasing smile.
He effortlessly caught up with my strides in a few large
steps.
I glared at him and then at my tiny legs.
"Fine. Do not tell me then." I huffed out before curiosity took
over and I pleaded "Please. Give me a clue. Just a small
one."
"It is Greek.” He answered back vaguely
I narrowed my eyes at how unhelpful his clue was and then I
stared to guess what it could be "Olives? Hummus? The
Parthenon?"
Stone shook his head as his lip twitched.
He then went on to ask, "Have you ever thought about
getting a tattoo?"
Crossing the road and following him into an unfamiliar
smaller street that broke off from the main road, I nodded.
"Yeah. I have always wanted to get one, but I want
something that means something." I stated before
explaining "So no skulls or cringe worthy quotes in mandarin
for me."
He let out a husky laugh.
My need to know his future tattoo took over me and I asked,
"Does the tattoo you want today mean something?"
His reply came in one quick breath "It is the most important
one."
"You can’t just say that!" I outburst and pointed to him with
a scowl on my face "That makes me even more curious.
Greek, that could be anything. It is just cruel what you are
doing. Tell me!"
"No." Stone replied, trying to contain his amusement.
He stopped walking as we approached a large neon sign.
There was no store front. Instead, a set of stairs led
downwards to more fluorescent lights. It looked like some
underground club.
In all my years living in Santa Monica, I had never been
close to the area. It was nothing like I had ever seen before.
"A tattoo parlour that is underground and in the middle of
nowhere." I voiced aloud as I sent him a faux look of horror
"Are you sure you are not taking me down here to kill me?"
"If I was going to kill you then I would have done it at your
apartment." He spoke smugly "I have had plenty of
opportunities."
His taunting tone gave away that he was trying to suggest
that he was always with me.
I shot him a glare while I stood on my toes to appear slightly
taller.
Stone noticed what I was doing and barked a laugh.
"Maybe you are a killer with traditions." I suggested "This is
where you lead all of your girls to kill."
His breath tickled the back of my neck as leaned down and
rasped "You are the only one, Drizella."
A smile could not be fought from my face as I gripped the
railing at the top of the stairs and started to descend.
I turned over my shoulder and smiled sweetly at the giant "I
hope the actor who plays you for the reconstruction video in
the crime documentary of us captures all of your ugliness."
The theme of bright lights continued inside the shop. The
stairs led to a large room lit up by neon signs. There was no
normal lightbulbs or lamps. Everything was a bright purple,
blue and green. It was like the northern lights compacted
into a small space.
Covering the walls was sketches of all different kinds of
things. From animals to portraits of people to landscapes of
cities.
I stepped closer to admire the drawings as Stone went
further into the shop to start talking to someone.
One drawing in particular caught my eye as I flicked my
gaze over the wall of sketches.
It was a dragon. The creature took up the whole space of
the paper. The curl of the tail reached the bottom of the
page. It was extremely detailed from the talons to the few
flowers at each side of the fire breathing creature.
The dragon looked like something straight out of a
storybook. A fairytale came to life. I instantly fell in love with
it.
"That would suit you." An unfamiliar voice called.
I turned from the drawing and hurried over to the two guys.
Stone's dark eyes watched me as I joined him at his side.
I forcefully drew my attention away from him to look at the
other guy in the room.
The stranger had hair that was a mixture of red and brown.
He was skinny with a larger height than me. He was
nowhere near the height of the giant, however. Overall, he
was quite handsome. The rounded glasses perched on his
nose suited him.
I might have found him attractive if I was not too busy
looking at the larger male beside me.
The red headed stranger smiled and let out a laugh when I
looked back up at Stone.
Shaking myself out of the eye lock, I spoke to the other
person in the room "Hi. I am Ella."
"Oh. I know." The stranger grinned "I am Reed. It is great to
finally meet you, Ella."
"It is nice to meet you too." I said back before I asked, "Are
you a friend of Stone's?"
Reed let out a chuckle "I do not think Stone would class me
as his friend. He does not have friends. Non-sociable asshole
that he is."
I nudged upwards at Stone's ribs and stage whispered, "I
like this guy already."
The giant glared at Reed before he finally spoke up in his
rough sounding voice "Are you going to start this tattoo or
not?"
The poor tattooist rolled his eyes at his rudeness and turned
to me "How do you put up with him every day?"
Laughing, I grinned wickedly at the subject of conversation
"It is hard work, I will give you that."
Stone never said anything more. He just watched me with a
softer gaze than he had a minute ago.
Reed took the hint that Stone wanted to start the tattoo but
before he done anything, he motioned to the wall behind me
"Did you want a tattoo done, Ella?"
"Oh no. That is okay." I quickly replied.
"I saw you look at the dragon." Reed pointed out "I think you
would suit it and I would happily do it for you."
"It is okay." I repeated and then pointed to Stone "We are
here for the second cousin of Big Foot's tattoo. I am only
here to hold his hand."
The tattooist burst out laughing before he said to Stone
"She is hilarious."
"I know." The giant replied.
"And very cute." Reed added.
"I know." Stone said again but that time his voice went
deeper and scarier.
Looking up at him, I raised an eyebrow at Lurch.
He looked back and insisted "If you want the tattoo then get
it done."
"You just do not want me to go with you so you can keep me
in the dark about what tattoo you are getting." I pointed up
at his face accusingly "You plan to torture me."
"Of course not, Medusa." He said with a smirk.
Reed appeared shocked as he looked between us a couple
of times. He then spoke to Stone "You have not told her
what you are getting tattooed on you?"
Stone sent him a stern glare. He seemed to be telepathically
communicating with the tattooist about something.
The message was received because Reed nodded before
turning to me and asking "Do you want the tattoo? It gets
you away from sitting next to the dark cloud. Plus, I will do
it for you for free."
The response bubbled out of me because I did really want
the dragon on my skin "Okay. How could I say no to that?
But only if, you are sure."
"What happened to not getting anything random put on
your skin?" Stone asked, sounding almost concerned.
"It is not random." I replied, "I am going to literally be the
girl with the dragon tattoo."
The expression on his striking features did show concern
and he appeared unsettled. He looked away from me with
his jaw ticking as he grumbled to himself.
Reed watched him with amusement as he questioned "Are
you happy to get yours done by someone else if I do Ella's?"
Stone nodded but only once.
"I will take Ella through to get tatted." Reed said and then
smiled at a tense Stone "It might take a while, so you better
say goodbye to your girl."
I blinked twice.
"I’m not his girl." I interjected with a small awkward laugh
like I was not fully convinced of my statement.
I was surprised at how much my voice sounded weak and
unsure.
The surprise still coursed through me when I met the
obsidian eyes.
His jaw was clenched as his eyes shone with longing. He
flicked over my form until his evade rested on my face. The
defined jaw remained ticking as his expression presented
his devastating hurt.
Guilt swarmed the pit of my stomach. It was so
overwhelming and confusing. I had no idea what I had to
feel guilty about. Neither did I know why he was so angered.
It was like he was in a trance. He was so deep in thought as
his facial expression contorted to one that looked
determined.
Possessiveness radiated off him and his actions as he took a
gentle hold of my hips and brought me closer to his side.
He kept his large hands on my waist as he caressed the skin
while asking "Are you sure you are going to be, okay?"
"Of course, I am." I assure him before I smiled up and
teased "I am starting to think you really do want me to hold
your hand while you get inked."
His tense demeanours fell apart as he noticed my smiling.
"It is the opposite." He grumbled "Do you want me to come
in with you and hold your hand?"
I waved him off "No. I will be fine."
"Are you sure?" He said, his fingers curling in and out of fist
like he had a nervous twitch.
"I am sure." I said for definite before throwing another taunt
at him "You just want to see my underwear."
Silence filled the room.
Then he bellowed "What?"
Raising an eyebrow, I started picking a piece of loose thread
on my jeans and tried not to look offended as I spoke "It was
a joke."
He shook his head as his eyes darkened “Why are you
taking your clothes off?"
"I’m not taking my clothes off." I replied.
His shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Just my jeans." I added.
Stone stiffened again and then he growled.
Reed coughed but it sounded a lot like laughter "The dragon
is quite big, and it curls so the perfect place is the thigh to
the hip. Ella is right."
His words do not settle Stone. Instead, Reed became the
victim of the terrifying scowl.
I walked over to the design of the dragon and took it off the
wall as Reed instructed me to do so.
When I had my back to them, I heard Stone grumbling
something and his rough tone could have been interpreted
as tyrannical.
His irises went back to a softer shade of black as I walked
back over to them and gave him in an encouraging smile.
"Whipped." Reed spluttered between pretending to cough.
The tyrant behaviour of Stone was back as he commanded
"Take care of her."
Reed nodded "Yes boss."
There was no hint of humour in his reply or his use of the
word boss.
I was too busy gaping at Stone's public show of concern for
me to question it.
Shock was still what I felt when I was escorted further into
the store by the red-haired male. He led me into a small
dark room. The confined space had one chair that took up
all of the room. There was also a small desk that contained
an assortment of different coloured inks.
"Take a seat." Reed insisted as he closed the door behind
him and started to put on a pair of black rubber gloves.
A little embarrassed, I sat on the chair and pulled down my
jeans before relaxing on to the chair sidewards, so I was
facing away from him.
He scooted closer on his stool and started filling up the
needle with the black ink.
Reed mentioned to my exposed thigh "Did you see his face
when you mentioned sitting in your underwear? I have
never seen him so caught off guard."
"Really?"
The tattooist stared to sketch the design in pen on my leg as
he spoke again "I thought he was going to kill me."
I laughed "He would not have killed you."
"He was close to." He exaggerated with a look of horror on
his face "Imagine if it was another tattoo artist doing this?
Or even I was straight, me doing this? He would have really
snapped my neck then."
The middle part of his rant caught my attention, so I asked,
"You are gay?"
"Of course, I am." Reed laughed "Did you really think Stone
would allow a straight guy to see you like this? He
threatened me that if I looked at you then I would be a dead
man."
Trying to ignore the feeling in my stomach that rooted from
his statement about Stone, I quickly changed the topic "I am
just sad for my gender's loss. You are a total catch."
"I know. Also, a catch for guys but unlucky for them, I am
very much taken." Reed said with confidence as he sent a
wink my way.
He knew I tried to turn the conversation back on him
because he changed it right back again.
"I bet you Stone comes in to see you." Reed said before
nodding down towards my panties "It is like you knew that
before coming here. Your black lacy underwear is definitely
going to catch his attention."
My face went heated as I laughed nervously "At least I’m
not wearing my ones with the cute little frog faces."
"Did you see his solemn expression when you said you were
not his girl?" Reed asked while he tipped his head back and
chuckled "I almost felt sorry for the moody fucker."
For some reason, I felt the need to defend the giant "He is
not that bad. He is only moody when he has to talk to
people."
"He is only moody when has to talk to people that are not
you." He corrected.
I adjusted myself on the seat to give him better access to
my hip.
"You do know that you have changed him, right?" Reed
asked.
"Changed him?" I repeated.
He nodded his head and then went on to explain "He is
happier with you. The first time that I heard about you was a
complete shock to me. I almost did not believe it."
"Believe what?"
"Now I see it." Reed said "He came in today and he smiled
at you. He laughed also."
"Are you trying to say that I have broken Stone?"
"No." He disagreed "You fixed him."
For the second time that night, I found myself defending
him "There is nothing wrong with Stone. He is perfect."
Reed chuckled at the last part of my defence, making my
face go red again. This made me rest the side of my head
and hide my blushed cheeks.
"Why are you not with him?" He asked
"Um...What?"
He repeated his question "Why are you not with Stone?"
"Stone is not interested in me like that."
"You are right." Reed confirmed before adding "It is not a
mere interest."
"Then what is it?" I asked, trying to prepare myself for
disappointment at his answer.
"Ella," Reed delivered softly "You do know that Stone is in
love with you."
My mouth opened and closed again.
"That is...That is not true." I stumbled on my words.
"It is not?" He asked sceptically.
Grabbing a piece of my hair that was falling on my forehead
and twirling it, I eventually countered back with "We are in
the same friend group because of Brennan and Lana. He
maybe feels he has to be close to me for Brennan's sake."
Reed appeared amused at my rant.
"I actually call him my acqenemy which is a mixture of
acquaintance and enemy." I kept talking.
"You are the worst liar I have ever seen!" Reed burst out
laughing "And I can't even see your face because you are
hiding it in the chair."
I kept my mouth shut and continued to hide my flustered
face in the chair.
I had to deny it. I had to deny it to myself another because I
could see myself slowly but surely growing attracted.
He then went on to ask, "Do you kiss all the people that are
in your friend group?"
"How do you know we kissed?" I questioned while turning
my head to the side to see him over my shoulders
A triumphant grin took over his face.
"I didn't. Now I do." Reed chuckled before questioning "So
how many times have you kissed?"
"I would answer that but moving my mouth would result in
moving and that might end up ruining my tattoo."
"I am not inking you yet." Reed mentioned.
"Shut up." I mumbled before I queried "Stone is your friend.
Do you not have loyalties to not talk about him behind his
back?"
"Nope." He answered, over pronouncing the four-letter word
and dragging the syllables out.
"I believe Stone is somewhat kind of attracted to me." I
voiced, the conversations still on my mind "That is all it is
though. It is not that big word you used earlier."
He hummed before he changed his voice to a gentler tone "I
am ready to start inking. It is going to be sore. The thigh is
one of the worse places plus it is your first tattoo."
"That made me feel so better." I uttered sarcastically before
I said to him "Just do it. I will be fine."
The needle pricked my skin and I almost squealed at the
pain. He started to move the needle gun and what he left in
its path was the feeling of a thousand bee stings. The
vibrations sent a wave of pain through my leg.
I put a hand on my mouth to stop from screaming.
"Are you okay?" Reed called over the buzzing noise which
rang loud in my ear.
"Distract me." I bit out "Tell me about something."
"I would like a song from Prince at my funeral." He told me
"You will be in charge of my funeral once Stone kills me after
hearing your screaming."
I thought about Stone getting his tattoo done in the other
room, so I spoke through gritted teeth "What tattoo is Stone
getting?"
"That would be telling."
Giving the tattoo a dirty look, I shouted out in a strained
voice "Oh, so now you have loyalties."
One knock at the door made Reed stop and me take a sigh
of relief at the small break from the pain
He wipes away the excess ink before calling "What is it?"
A deep voice came from the other side of the wall "I am
coming in."
"I have lived a good life." Reed muttered to himself.
The huge wide shoulders filled the doorway as he watched
me from a few metres away.
I looked away to avoid his eye as I tried to endure more of
the ink related torture.
My plan to not show the pain I was in to Stone did not last
long because that giant set down a chair right beside me.
Right at the side where I was facing.
His pupils were dilated and had become two big black orbs
as his gaze trailed to my thigh. A blink later and he was
back to focusing on my face.
"How was your tattoo finished so fast?" I asked, remaining
to bite back my screams "Mine is just getting started."
"I got it started a few days ago. I just needed a few more
details finished."
I could not hold it back anymore. I winced and let out a
small whine.
Stone went from teasing to concerned in a record-breaking
time.
He looked to the tattooist and growled "I swear to fuck,
Reed. If you—"
"Hey." I stopped him by putting a hand on his chest "It is not
his fault. I wanted this. He is not directly causing the pain."
Stone nodded but he did not relax.
"Now say sorry to him." I ordered.
The dark eyes remained on me as he grumbled out "Sorry."
I grinned.
Reed coughed again "Whipped."
"Now hold my hand." I demanded him.
He set his large hand out in front of me, and I took it
instantly. The huge hand squeezed my fingers in
reassurance. The contact sent warmth and a sense of
comfort thought me. It was miraculous but his touch made
me feel a lot better.
"How could you get this done several times?" I said up to
him.
His reply was full of undisguised taunting "Fifty-three to be
exact."
That was the number that I counted on him. That was the
number I told him I counted earlier that day.
At his remark, I warned him "Now is not the time to be
teasing me. I will rip your head off, squeeze your brain for
the juices and use that for the ink for my next tattoo."
"There will not be a next time." He assured me in his rough
and dark tone.
"Who are you to—" I began but was caught off by my own
squeal.
Stone started to run his free hand over my hair as his other
kept clutching mine as he glared at the other person in the
room.
"My favourite song by Prince is Purple Rain." Reed tried to
quietly say to me.
"Do you know what would make me feel better?" I asked
Stone to keep him occupied and to prevent his bloodlust
from taking over.
"What?" He quickly replied
"If you told me what tattoo you got." I told him and tried to
appear innocent.
He tried to remain serious, but his lip twitched "No."
Pouting, I tried to negotiate "At least tell me where your
tattoo is?"
"My upper back."
"I have already got my jeans off." I pointed out "Just take off
your t-shirt and let’s make this a party, Lurch."
Before he could answer, I squirmed and restrained myself
from jumping up in the chair. My action made Stone close
his eyes and take a deep breath. His jaw ticked in a rhythm
as he continued to stroke my hair.
He kept his hand there while looking down at my thigh and
assured me "It looks good."
"He is not meaning the tattoo, Ella." Read spoke up and
reminded us of his presence "He has got a good view from
there."
Besides the pain, I found myself laugh. Which was a
completely different story from the giant. He was not
amused.
I turned to Reed "Did you say Purple Rain for your funeral?"
The tattooist let out a strained laugh, but he had paled.
I distracted myself from my agitated leg by asking them
both "So how do you two know each other?"
Reed was the one to answer. He began to say "The beach—"
Stone finished his sentence "Reed likes surfing as well."
I nodded my head and closed my eyes after suddenly
feeling a bit woozy. Stone picked up on my sudden lack of
energy because he started to stroke my face a little quicker.
I forced my eyes open to see his ones. They looked soft
staring down at me.
He tried to distract me by asking "Why a dragon?"
Grinning lazily, I managed a wink at him "I will tell you mine
if you show me yours."
"I will get it out of you eventually, Medusa"
A quick shoot of pain stopped me from rolling my eyes.
Stone just sat there, and he looked so stressed and on edge.
"What are you thinking about, Lurch?"
"I am thinking that this is the perfect opening sentence to
my essay about you. Drizella Miller does not have a high
pain tolerance."
Laughing, I replied “It would be a good start. You just need a
few more weird facts about me because I doubt you could
write good things about me. Definitely not five hundred
words worth."
In the corner of my eye, Reed moved away somewhere. I did
not bother to see where because I was more interested in
listening to what Stone had to say.
The giant leaned down nearer and squeezed my hand
tighter "I would struggle to find something bad to write
about you. Five hundred words to describe you is
impossible. Five million is also not manageable. I do not
think there is words out there that really capture you. You
are simply everything. Nothing is as extraordinary as you."
I turned to the tattooist and questioned "Does the ink make
you hallucinate?"
"No. It doesn't." Reed answered "Stone wants you to stop
and I think you should too. You don't look well."
Widening my eyes, I shouted "No! I want my dragon tattoo. I
have already come this far."
Stone shook his head and grumbled out roughly "Ella—"
I cut him off by shushing him "I will be fine. Just don't let go
of my hand."
He never let go of my hand.
The tattooist just tutted "You have got yourself a stubborn
girl there."
The pressure on my hand increased as the deep voice spoke
again "Yes. I do."
I felt my eyelids grow heavier and I listened as the buzzing
of the tattoo needle became background noise.
My face rested against the chair as I stared at the
beautifully dark ethereal face that was made up of rough
and harsh lines.
"Stone?" I whispered to him.
He hummed a strained noise that was a grumble of
disapproval that I was still getting tattooed.
"Move closer." I demanded of him with a sweet smile on my
lips "I need to whisper something into your ear."
Stone leaned forward so that his face hovered next to mine
and his warmth breath tickled my mouth and my nose.
I moved so that my lips were his ear before I giggled the
words "Your tattoos turn me on."
A deep dark guttural noise that sounded like it had been
lodged in his throat for a while now made its way out of him.
I let out a laugh and I kissed him on the jaw before the pain
took over me.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-One
It was midnight by the time we got back to my apartment
building. My current position was off the floor and in the
embrace of the two bulky tattooed arms.
"You didn’t have to carry me all the way back." I told Stone
as I prodded his chest.
I tried to stop him back at the parlour from picking me up
bridal style. His response was to send me a glare and
tighten his hold on me.
If I was being honest with myself then I had no objections to
getting transported in the large arms. However, I felt bad
that he had carried me from the tattoo place to his bike and
then from his bike to my floor in the apartment building
"I promise that I’m okay now." I assured him while looking
up at his ridiculously good-looking face that currently looked
stressed.
He grumbled "Ella."
"There is nothing wrong with me." I tried to convince him "I
only half fainted...twice."
"There is no such thing as half fainting." He said in the form
of a deep noise as he frowned down at me.
Letting out a huff, I considered throwing myself over his
shoulder and sticking my head down his t-shirt to see his
tattoo.
He had still not told me what it was, and I was growing
impatient.
Before I could weigh up the pros and cons of pouncing on
him, he set me down gently on the floor in front of my
apartment so I could open the door.
I fumbled with my keys and the lock meanwhile Stone kept
ahold of my waist and made sure I did not fall over.
His voice was husky and strained as he admitted "You really
scared me back there."
I pushed open the door but I did not go in and instead, I
turned around and faced him with a small smile.
"I am fine, Lurch." I repeated to him for the millionth time
"Did I not mention before that I don't handle pain well and I
usually faint?"
"No," He growled, "You did not mention that."
If he was on edge about the whole tattoo thing, then I was
dreading seeing him when it was my time of the month, and
I fainted a lot.
Stone followed me into the living room and sat on the sofa
as he dragged me to also sit down.
My leg kept twitching. It was a weird sensation like pins and
needles touching my skin. The jeans covering the area of
my leg did not help.
Deciding that it did not look like the giant was going
anywhere, I announced quickly before making my escape to
my bedroom "I am going to go and get changed into my
pyjamas."
The deep voice called from afar "If you do not feel well then
you shout me, Medusa."
I wasted no time in getting rid of my jeans that were
agitating the newly inked skin as soon as I closed the door
to my room. I discarded my current wardrobe and changed
into an oversized Metallica shirt. I thought about putting on
some shorts but then decided against it as I did not want
any material rubbing against the plastic-wrapped tattoo.
He was still on the sofa when I returned though to the living
room. He faced me as soon I walked into the room.
Stone's gaze travelled from my face and down to my bare
legs. Then his darkened eyes slowly tailed back to meet my
eyes.
I suddenly felt the urge to cover up. I felt exposed and it
was just not due to what I was wearing.
"Are you okay, Medusa?" He asked.
I did feel okay. I was more than okay.
He was there with me.
I liked him with me. I liked him when he was not around. I
liked him.
He was just sitting there and studying me and that was
enough.
One thing that I was never good at was understanding other
people. Science, maths and literacy techniques all came
easy to me. What I struggled with was working out what
people thought.
Stone was no exception to that.
He might have made fun of me more than anyone else and
teased me to the point that I wanted to strangle him, but I
had gathered that he cared for me a little.
It was not the first time that Stone had looked after me. He
took me home when I was drunk. He helped me when I
panicked after my run-in with my father. He helped me
conquer my fear of the Ferris wheel and the situation with
my mother and the ocean.
He made me laugh. He made me happy.
I stepped forward and chose not to overthink what I was
about to do. I did not want to cower out of something that I
wanted so badly.
His hands went up to my hips as I stood in front of him. His
head reached my chest as he remained sitting down.
My palms rested on his shoulders and as I placed one knee
on one side of him and the other knee on the other side so
that I was straddling him.
To my delight, he quickly wrapped one arm around my waist
to keep me in place on his lap and to bring my chest closer
to his. The other large hand reached up and touched my
cheek as the obsidian stare softened.
I moved my touch to his face and let my fingers gently
touch the harsh features as I kissed his stubbled jaw.
When I pulled back, he grumbled unhappily.
"What is it?" I asked while motioning to his scowl.
He rumbled deeply again "I want another one."
A small giggle escaped me as I leant closer once again to
kiss the other side of his jaw.
His voice was gravelly, and he sounded mystified as he
uttered "Are you feeling okay?"
I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and rested
the side of my head on his shoulder. I took a deep breath
and welcomed the smell of engine grease and leather. His
warm touch went to the back of my neck as if he was
making sure that I was going to stay against him.
As much as I loved his hugs, I did have an ulterior motive.
"I have never been better." I replied to his question before
pulling back the top of his shirt and sticking my head inside.
The large section of his upper back that had been inked was
covered in a white bandage so I could not see it.
His grip on my waist tightened as if he knew I was going to
pull back.
He whispered hoarsely in my ear "Are you trying to see my
tattoo?"
"Well, yes." I pulled back but did not remove myself from his
lap "I also just wanted to hug you. Consider it a thank you."
"For what?"
My smile made him gawk at my lips as I spoke "For
everything."
"It is not all selfless." He confessed while dragging his finger
from my cheek to my lip "I look after you for my own sake
and sanity too."
A yawn escaped my mouth and stopped me from grinning. I
rubbed my eyes as I asked, "What time is it?"
"It is just after midnight." He answered while checking his
phone.
"Really?" I asked in disbelief "I am going to be so tired at
school tomorrow."
None of us bothered to move. I knew that we both had to
get up early tomorrow and I was really tired, but I did not
want him to leave.
That was what made me whisper to him "Stay."
"I am not going anywhere, Medusa."
He stood up with my body still wrapped around him. His
hands remained on my back like he was being careful not to
hurt or drop me while he walked us to the bedroom.
I was set on the bed carefully before Stone went back out to
the hall.
As I got into the duvet and laid on my side while waiting for
him, I wondered where he had gone to.
The sounds of large footsteps were followed by the bedroom
lights being turned off. The room was in complete darkness
as he neared.
The huge dark outline of the giant stood near his side of the
bed as he removed his clothes.
Stone joined me in the covers which resulted in the bed
sinking down and his wide shoulders taking up all of the
space.
His hand found my hip instantly and he rolled me over to my
side so that I was facing him. I complied and leant on my
elbow so I could see him better. I adjusted to the position
even though I was leaning on my tattoo.
"Lurch?" I said into the darkness.
"Yeah?" He replied and I could feel how close he was by his
warm breath on my earlobe.
"Tell me something about you that nobody knows."
He chuckled and adjusted himself on the bed, so he was
leaning on his side facing me too "Like what?"
"Anything." I said back.
A comfortable silence filled the air between us. He seemed
to be thinking as he caressed the side of my thigh.
Stone finally replied, "My favourite book as a kid was Alice in
Wonderland by Lewis Carroll."
My eyes felt heavy and started to close as I let out a small
laugh "Really?"
I had not expected that book to be liked by Stone. It was
whimsical and crazy and completely different from Stone.
"I studied Alice in Wonderland last year when I wrote a
paper about authors on drugs. It was crazy." I mentioned
before asking curiously "Why did you like it?"
At my comment about the book, he let out a deep breath
that sounded like a half-laugh "I do not know why I liked it.
Strange kid I guess."
"You are still strange now." I deadpanned while laughing.
My comment earned a chuckle from him as he shook his
head at me. I imagined him smiling a little in the dark.
I tried to be more serious as I said to him "You know I would
say that you should let more people know that you are a
nerd but I kind of like that it is our little secret."
"I am not a nerd." He argued.
"Give it up." I said as I laughed "I already know you are."
He gave in and lowly replied, "I do love the idea of having
something we only know."
"Does Brennan not know about your obsession with books
and your nerdiness?"
The outline of his head shook as his deep voice filled the
darkness "He knows about the books in my room. I could not
really keep that from him. Brennan does not know about the
Wonderland thing. You are the first to know."
I hummed as I moved closer to him on the bed.
The thought made me smile. I imagined the large
intimidating man reading about mad hatters and tea parties
as my lip moved into a smile.
We spoke further into the night. I asked him about his
favourite books so I could make a list and read them all. We
debated about literary characters until the noise of traffic on
the street below stopped.
I had no idea that heated arguments about worlds among
pages could make someone so tempted to kiss a person.
It was mad. Stone drove me to insanity. I was losing my
mind.
"Is it just me or is really cold in here?" I questioned him as I
cuddled into him for warmth.
He remained silent. He only brought me closer until my
head was resting on his chest.
"You still have not answered my question, Medusa." He
spoke, "Why the dragon?"
"Are you going to show me your tattoo?" I countered back.
"No."
I stifled back a laugh and sternly told him "Then I am not
telling you."
He grunted in disapproval, but I could hear traces of
amusement in it. Just as I could feel the smirk he wore on
his mouth as his face was buried in my hair.
"I answered your question." He referred back to the Alice In
Wonderland conversation.
"Fine." I gave in and tried to find the words to explain my
reasoning behind wanting the tattoo "It is something
unfairytale like. That conversation we had about the ugly
stepsister had me thinking. I wanted to embrace my stupid
name. A dragon in a fairytale usually represents some kind
of obstacle. It is unique looking and sometimes scary. It is
something that stands in the way of getting the fairytale."
"The tattoo suits you." He said deeply and lowly, still against
my head.
I could not take it much longer. I had my legs draped across
Stone and I still felt so cold. I had to wrap my arms around
him also.
Eventually, I huffed and stood up from the bed which made
the giant let out a rough dissatisfied noise.
"Where are you going?" He called, sounding as if he was
minutes away from carrying me back to bed.
"I could have sworn I switched the central heating on." I said
more to myself as I checked the small closet in the hallway.
The switch was not on, and the radiators were cold.
I marched through to my room with my hands on my hips
"Did you put the heating off?"
Silence graced the room.
I moved closer to interrogate him, but he only used my
nearness to his advantage. He pulled my knees until I fell on
top of him with a thud.
"Stone—ahh." I let out as I was crushed to his chest.
He grumbled under his breath as his large, muscled arms
enveloped me and trapped my body to his.
I looked up in the direction of his face “Did you switch off
the central heating?"
There was no reply from him.
"Why did you do that, Lurch?"
"If you are cold then you have to cuddle into me." He
mumbled, determined to keep my small body on top of his
large one.
"That is... evil and slightly genius." I admitted while throwing
my head back and laughing "I can’t even be mad at you for
that."
My finger roamed to his chest as I moved on to my stomach.
He watched as I traced his tattoos. The darkness meant that
I could see nothing, but I knew the black lines from memory.
Even though I was tired, and I could feel sleep taking over, I
could not drift off. There was something I had to do first.
Something that I could blame on the symptoms of
sleepiness if it went wrong.
To make sure he was not sleeping, I quietly called out
"Stone?"
"Ella." He replied.
Whatever I wanted to say got lost in the air. I closed my
mouth and rested my head back on the large chest.
He spoke instead and he asked me "Why do you act
oblivious to us?"
I knew what he meant. He meant oblivious to him and his
touch. To his stares and actions overall.
"Who says I’m acting?" I deadpanned.
Stone grumbled "I know you."
I quietly admitted to the shadow of the man underneath me
"I’m scared of getting hurt."
"Ella." He said deeply and lowly, his voice full of
determination "I would never dream of hurting you."
I believed him wholeheartedly.
A sense of relief washed over me when I opened my mouth.
I was expecting to find it hard to admit something so
massive to him, but it was surprisingly easy how the words
poured out of me.
"What if I told you that I really liked you?" I uttered into the
darkness.
The deep voice spoke back "I would say it is about time."
"I think I liked you from the start." I said aloud but more to
myself.
Then I felt it. The overpowering sense of enlightenment. I
had been running from the realisation for too long. I did not
want to develop a connection and I did not want to grow
attached.
It was too late. Far too late.
It was pitch black in the room, but I swore I could see him
smiling and maybe I was imagining it, but it was the truest
and most handsome smile I had seen.
I had fallen down the rabbit hole and there was no return.
Alice in Wonderland. I did remember reading it. In the book,
Alice lists six impossible things before breakfast. I recalled
the information as I planned to also list six impossible things
of my own.
I listed the most preposterous statements.
It was impossible to find true randomness in nature,
everything is meant for a reason. It was impossible for
humans to beat the speed of light, no matter how great the
invention helping them is. It was impossible also for humans
to breathe on Mars. It was impossible to read with your eyes
shut. It was impossible to teach a goldfish algebra.
My sixth and final impossible fact lingered in my mind.
What was unimaginable was hating Valentine Stone.
Even just liking him was unthinkable. What I felt for him was
a lot stronger.
Stone pulled the covers up the bed until I was covered
completely. He kissed my head before he said "Go to sleep.
Dream yourself up a fairytale."
I relaxed into him and closed my eyes but even then, all I
could see was him. I spoke aloud before sleep took over "I
might already have it here awake with you."
The room went silent. It stayed that way for a good few
minutes. In that time, a large rough hand made its way onto
my bare thigh and started to rub circles on the skin.
I was no longer tired.
He stopped rubbing circles on my thigh because he pulled
his hand back. He then snaked his muscular arm around my
waist and pulled me onto him.
My legs planted on the mattress at either side of him. He
was so well-built that I had to open my legs wider to
accommodate him between them.
His facial expression never gave anything away. However,
his eyes dilated, and his jaw clenched when he looked down
at my body. I was straddling his boxers when I was only in
an oversized t-shirt.
Everything happened so quickly. His hands found my back
and he slammed me down closer to his body. His mouth
found mine which was already parted in anticipation.
Stone dominated the kiss. His mouth was warm and
demanding as he dragged his tongue across my bottom lip.
I opened my mouth wider and let him taste me better. Over
and over again, he devoured me.
He was crushing me to his body as our kisses got deeper. It
was rough and almost bruising.
The hands planted on my lower back moved in rush. One
hand combed through my hair and the other held my jaw in
a tight cradle. He kept me close while his greedy tongue
continued to rule over my mouth.
A groan made its way out of his large chest.
It was relentless how his tongue stroked over mine in a
needy manner.
For a few seconds, I entertained the idea of moving against
him and dulling the ache between my legs.
The giant used his strong arms to hold me to him. His grip
was demanding and desperate. Almost like he wanted to
chain me to him.
Something colossal and hard brushed against my thigh.
My eyes widened as I pulled back and looked down.
There was a wet patch on the black boxers, and I knew it
had come from me. All I had on under my shirt was a bra
and a thong. The wetness between my thighs had leaked
onto him and gave him indication of my arousal.
"I am really sorry. Really, really sorry." I panted out while
jumping off Stone and the bed like they were both made of
fire.
I heard the gruff voice call my name, but I ignored it and ran
out the room through the hallway and into the kitchen.
Never in my life I had ever wanted to disappear more than
right this moment.
My body was small, but I did not know if it was small enough
to fit in the fridge. There was only one way to find out. I
needed to cool down and be able to hide so it was a win-win
situation.
I had one foot in the fridge when Stone walked into the
kitchen.
He never said a word as he stormed towards me. His large
steps were full of intent. He only had one thing on his mind
and that was to capture me.
His hands found my hips and he bounced me upwards until I
landed at eye level with my legs wrapped around him. His
lips connected with mine once again while my hands went
to his tattooed chest.
It felt like a firework had gone off in every single pleasure
point in my body. My erogenous zones were pretty much
calling out to him.
My ass landed on the kitchen counter as Stone pulled back
to look at me. His eyes went even darker as I opened my
legs wide and gave him a full view of my panties.
He let out a rough sounding noise before burying his face in
my neck. His stubble tickled my jugular as he left soft kisses
on the skin.
I tipped my head back and mewled his name.
"I know, baby." He rasped out, not leaving his position
against my neck "Can I take your shirt off?"
I managed to nod my head.
"Ella."
"Yes." I breathily answered "Yes. Please."
The huge hands moved faster than lightning. He took a hold
of my butt firmly and drew my body forward until I was on
the edge of the counter. The marble dug into the back of my
legs as he gripped the material and tugged.
I was too busy watching him that I forgot to lift my arms.
Stone could not get the shirt off my body normally, so he
became frustrated. With a deep grumble, he ripped the t-
shirt with one hand. He chucked the useless fabric away
with a savage gnarl.
"Hey!" I scolded before asking "What am I going to wear to
bed now?"
"You can wear my shirt." He growled.
His eyes went black with hunger as he let his gaze travel
across my figure. He let his attention roam from my pouty
lips to my cleavage to my thighs. His traversing of my body
stopped momentarily at the flimsy laced underwear that
showed off a lot of skin.
I looked down at where he was eyeing. My nipples were hard
against the black lace.
"I am cold." I lied, motioning down to my pointed nipples
against the flimsy black material “Someone turned off the
heating."
A hoarse chuckle left him before he attacked my mouth in
kisses again. While he tortured my mouth with tantalising
kisses, his busy hands massaged, squeezed and nipped at
every part of my body.
The oxygen got knocked out of my lungs and I panted into
his mouth.
"Please," I begged him.
He slowly moved one long rough finger to the waistband of
my panties. He tugged teasingly before slipping the lone
finger inside.
I was a wiggling mess against him, and he had barely even
touched me yet.
My legs opened wider, and my back ached back against the
kitchen counter as Stone tugged my black laced panties to
the side.
A low growl made its way out of his chest as his dark eyes
set on the space between my legs.
I could have come right then and there at the sight of him. I
could have come at the sound that left his throat. I could
come from how intensely he was looking at the small wet
hole between my legs.
"Fuck. Medusa." He rasped out "You are so beautiful that it
physically hurts to look at you."
My knees buckled and my legs widened further.
"I need to touch you." He released gutturally like the desire
was eating him alive.
The flimsy material of my black bra moved up and down
with my chest as I let out a whimper "What is stopping
you?"
His fingertip swept over the wetness, and I released a light
noise from my throat.
"You are soaked, Drizella." He rumbled while moving his
finger to a crease between my cleft and my thigh "Is this for
me?"
I could not even deny it, so I nodded my head. I was lost for
words.
His desire was like a wave, flowing from him and wrapping
around me. It made me feel safe and protected. It made me
feel cherished and worshiped and wanted and needed.
"You want my finger inside your perfect little pussy?" He
asked in a low harsh grumble.
The words alone could have tipped me over the edge. A
mixture of the sensual words and his gruff voice could have
sent me to a place full of pleasure.
One of his fingers was equal to two of mine in width. I was
going to die and what a wonderful death it would be.
My eyes fluttered shut and I panted the word "Yes."
Stone's finger slipped into me. He moved so slowly that I
thought I was going to faint from the mere pleasure.
I had never felt so full or so complete.
Moan after moan left my mouth. I started rolling my hips
involuntary as his pace increased. His free arm wrapped
around my low back and stopped me from moving as he
pulled my body closer towards him.
Our mouths found each other. His movements became
faster, harsher and more demanding as my walls squeezed
his finger. He rocked against me slightly as he continued to
hit the one perfect spot of mine over and over again.
I could not believe I was doing this with him.
He began to leave soft kisses along my jawline. He left no
skin untouched as he trailed the wet kisses all the way to
my ear.
The kiss is hard and punishing just like he is. His tongue
pushes right into my mouth without teasing or tentative
asking. He was taking what he wants, and he was claiming
me as his as he fucked with me with his hand.
I slid my hands up his chest and into his hair as I grab hold
of him. I climb his body as my legs go around his waist,
wanting to be closer to him as the heat takes over my body.
I pull back moan into his mouth as the raw passion hits
through him. I have never had feelings like the ones he
ignites inside me.
His lone thick finger speeds up and I begin to whine his
name.
My impending toe-curling orgasm was so close. I was
slightly embarrassed that the best feeling that I have ever
felt was caused by one finger, but I was too dazed in my
lust-state to care.
"You belong to me." He whispered harshly against my
earlobe as his finger slid up against my clit.
The words tipped me over the edge.
I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and held on
tight as my whole body began to shake. I muffled my mouth
with his chest so that the scream would drown out against
his bare skin.
Stone held me tightly and not once did he let go. He kissed
me everywhere as the pleasure rolled through me.
He kept the finger pressed on my spot for the full twenty
seconds of my high and commanded "Keep your eyes on
me, Medusa."
Pulling his hand back, he inspected the mess I had made on
his finger.
Black irises zoned in on my face and never left my gaze as
the man against me popped the wet digit into his mouth.
My chest heaved up and down as I let my forehead fall onto
his chest "That was..."
Mind-blowing. Earth-shattering. Phenomenal.
There was no word to describe it.
The deep voice shattered the silence "I am not done."
I pulled back and peered up at him "W-what?"
"I want you all over my hand." He whispered, a dark promise
to his eyes "I will not stop until you have covered it."
The wet sound of him moving in and out of me filled the
kitchen again and again. He began to move his finger even
faster while his thumb moved to circle my clit. The euphoric
feeling built up at the centre of my body countless times in
repeat.
My chest moved up and down erratically while I tipped my
head back and mewled his name.
I came and came and came and came.
My eyes were closed when I collapsed against his chest and
snuggled into the warmth his bare chest had to offer.
Stone kissed my forehead and wrapped his large arms
around me.
I looked up and rested my chin against his skin when I spoke
"What about you?"
It was hard to ignore the Brobdingnagian monster pulsating
against my inner thigh. The long hard length was jutted
against the material of his boxers.
"I want you to feel good too." I whispered to him shyly "I
want to touch you."
The obsidian orbs softened but he shook his head "You are
tired, and you are going to bed."
"But...But..." I tried to get the words out, but I was still
tongue-tied from the euphoric tingling feeling of pleasure
between my legs.
His tattooed hands cupped my face, and he left a soft kiss
on my nose.
"That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." He
rasped out "The greatest pleasure I could feel is by seeing
you in pleasure."
Embarrassed, I covered my face with my palms and forced
out quickly "I need to clean myself up."
"That is my job." He grumbled out while picking me up by
the hips and carrying me through to the bathroom.
I yawned my question "Then can we go and cuddle?"
His chuckle filled my ear as he buried his face in my neck.
He never gave me a vocal answer but his grip on me
tightened.
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Two
The next day consisted of Stone touching me more often. It
would alternate from small brushes of our hands to him
resting a hand on my thigh. It was like he had held back
from touching me for ages and now he would unleash it and
not hold back.
I liked it. A lot.
That was until lunch when he did the inexcusable
unforgivable crime that left me furious.
"I don't like you." I pointed to him as he stole more fries
from my plate.
He leaned closer and lowly replied with a smirk "I must have
been hallucinating when I heard you tell me you liked me
last night while you were in my arms."
My eyes narrowed at the giant "My exact words were what if
I told I liked you. That is not a statement. Rather a thesis."
He cocked his head and let out a chuckle. He did not believe
me.
"How can you even be hungry?" I asked him before
mentioning "Did the seventeen apple pancakes for breakfast
not fill you up?"
I was annoyed at him and not just because he stole my
food. Every time that I tried to eat something or speak to
Lana, he would move his hand on my thigh a tiny bit higher.
Which made it all that harder to concentrate and form a
sentence.
I glared at him a few times and all he did was smirk, but not
once did he remove his hand.
Brennan spoke up from the other side of the table by
gleefully asking "Little Ella, I heard that you went and got a
tattoo with Stone."
Lana dropped the fork that had a piece of what the school
called pasta on it from her mouth in shock.
Her head snapped up in my direction as she shouted, "You
got a tattoo, and you never told me?"
"Well—" I started.
She quickly cut me off so she could ramble "Why did you
not tell me? This is ridiculous. What did you get tattooed?
When did you go? Did it hurt?"
I let out a small laugh at my best friends’ questions and
then answered them all except the last "I had not told you
yet because it was only last night I got it done and I got a
dragon on my thigh."
"Did it hurt?" She asked, noticing that I had never answered
that part the first time.
About to lie that I took the pain of the tattoo like a badass, I
was stopped by the expression on Stone's face. He looked
like he was reigning in a laugh.
Glaring at him, I kicked his leg under the table which earned
me a sidewards smirk from him.
I remembered how worried he was about my fainting
episode after the tattoo parlour, so I then considered
pretending to faint off the bench just to get some sort of
revenge.
When I looked back at Lana, she was watching both of us
and decided to direct her question to Stone "Did she find it
painful?"
He answered her back but remained smirking at me "She
handled it."
Lana nodded her head, but she was not done talking about
it "I can’t believe you two managed to hang out without
their being any La Petite Morts."
The juice I had in my mouth went everywhere as I entered a
coughing fit at her incorrect French phrase.
"What?" I said, mortified.
"It is French." She explained like she truly believed the
meaning was innocent "It means a war that ends up
resulting in a small death. Like a blow to the ego."
Brennan had a hand over his mouth and Stone sat back in
his chair with a small smug smile.
She was obsessed with France. She took French as a subject
but I guess the curriculum did not cover sex phrases.
"It does not mean that." I told her.
She looked at the two boys and frowned confusedly "Oh.
What does La Petite Mort mean then?"
Brennan then added while grinning mischievously "Yeah
Ella. What does it mean?"
I sneered at him before responding to Lana "Ask your
boyfriend."
Lana nodded and then proceeded to ask, "So was it
something else you did last night?"
"No!" I shouted and resisted the urge to climb under the
table and live there for the remainder of the day.
I wished that I was a good liar. I wished that I was not
thinking about good he made me feel with one little touch of
finger.
"Not yet." Brennan muttered.
I glared at him.
The terrible French speaker smiled at her boyfriend before
announcing to us all "Guess who cancelled his plans the
night of The Fall Ball to take me there? Is he not the
sweetest?"
Pointing to my saviour Brennan with a handful of fries, I told
him "You are back in my good books, Lover Boy. Now I do
not need to go to this stupid dance."
"How is that?" Lana argued, unimpressed by my
unwillingness to go.
"Because he is taking you and that means I don’t have to."
"That is not how it works." She said to me before claiming
"We all have to go together as a group."
Stone leant down to ask me while the other two were busy
talking "Why don't you want to go to the dance?"
I raised an eyebrow at him "Why would I want to go?"
Lana spoke so loudly that it broke me out of my intense eye-
lock with Stone. We all looked at her as she ranted to
Brennan.
"We have not spent any time together all week because you
have been so busy." She let out a sigh before snapping at
him further "Where do you have to go that is so important?
You are always busy, and you never tell me why."
The Houdini acts by Stone had completely blanked my mind.
Spending time with the man next to me had affected my
thoughts and changed my priorities.
My leg went cold as Stone's hand moved away from me. I
looked up at him to see him scowling in the other direction.
The quarterback's arrival could not have come at a worst
time.
Chase stood at the end of the table and his attention was on
the mountain of a man next to me.
He was smirking at the giant meanwhile Stone addressed
him with an emotionless glance.
None of us said anything to him.
The blonde quarterback was the one to fill the awkward
hostile silence by meeting my eye and asking, "Can I speak
to you?"
That was when Stone went from emotionless to ferocious.
He was a sleeping bear at that moment and one move
would result in Chase leaving the school in a body bag.
I missed the La Petite Mort chat.
"Is it about your Shakespeare paper that you asked me to
mark?" I asked Chase.
He nodded "Yeah. That is what it is about."
"It is in my locker." I told him and then I thought it best to
keep Chase away and safe from the wrath of Stone, so I
added "I have to go there anyway to get the stuff for my
next class. I will go and get it now."
Chase put a hand on his chest and feigned hurt "You only
want to talk to me as as my tutor. I thought we were more
than that."
A growl was heard, and it reminded me that Stone had as
much social etiquette as someone raised by wolves. He was
also as ruthless as one, so I stood up and did not meet the
pair of dark eyes.
I could feel them on me though. They followed me until I left
the cafeteria with the jock.
The corridor was empty when I arrived at the locker with
Chase. We made small talk from the cafeteria to the
hallway. The usual stuff from football to parties to gossip.
Topics that I did not care for, but they kept the conversation
going.
Putting in the combination for my locker, I pulled out my
English folder and rummaged through the unorganised
pieces of paper until I found the one that was not in my
handwriting.
Handing him the essay, I smiled in encouragement "It was a
good paper, but I think you need to work on—"
Chase put his hands up to cut me off and then he laughed at
me "Ella, did you really think I wanted my work back?"
"No, I thought you were taking me out of the lunch hall to
take me to Disneyland." I bit out sarcastically "Of course I
thought you wanted your work back."
Ignoring my sarcasm, He explained his real motive "Come to
the dance with me."
"I thought you said something about not being able to go." I
recalled, "You mentioned that there was a massive event at
your beach fight club thing."
Chase nodded "Litora Bello got pushed back until midnight
so I can now make it."
I bit my cheek to contain my laugh. The way he pronounced
Litora Bello like it was some god-given sacred gift in his
dramatic tone was amusing.
"You know that I loathe stupid school functions and I hate
dancing." I spoke truthfully "Also, I am sure you would
rather take someone that is more than a platonic date."
He did not seem disappointed at all. He was not looking at
me at all. Something behind my shoulder him occupied his
attention but he still replied cockily "You are missing the
opportunity to go to the dance with the best-looking guy in
the school."
"And the most humble." I joked before I apologised "I am
sorry. It is just not really my thing."
A smirk made its way onto his face as he moved in closer. I
was just about to pull away, but he managed to leave a
quick kiss on my cheek.
"It is fine, Ella." He assured me "We can do something else
another time."
The move was a dead giveaway. I turned around to see what
Chase had been looking at or more appropriately who he
had been looking at the whole time.
The ginormous eavesdropper was leaning on a wall of
lockers a few steps away. His expression was not like
anything similar to what I had seen in the past days. He
looked mad. Mad was not a strong enough word for it. Livid
was probably a better description.
His jaw muscles were tightened, and his hands were
clenched. It was predatory and ravening.
Stone did not say anything, but it was enough to make
Chase disappear down the corridor. The blonde male was
gone when I turned back to face him.
One thing I had learned about Stone was that his muteness
was one of the most intimidating things about him. He went
quiet and calculating when he was mad.
That is why I never shied away from him. He was never
silent around me.
Although if I had received even a quarter of the fury, I had
seen a minute ago then I would have run down the corridor
too.
His silence was chilling.
There was no point in avoiding him so like a lamb to the
slaughterhouse, I loitered over towards him.
His face and dark eyes softened when he seen me making
my way to him.
Only slightly because faster than I could say Chase-and-I-
were-only-talking, he was dragging the both of us into the
closest room to where his lookout spot was.
He lifted me into the janitors closer and slammed the door
behind him.
The small, confined space smelt like feet and cleaning
chemicals. I had never been in the tiny room. I was not one
for a rendezvous in the janitor’s closet.
I did not get a good look around the place. That was due to
Stone's large body blocking my view as he caged me
against the wall. His two hands went to either side of my
head as he neared me.
He was still furious. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his
gaze was darkened. His veins bulged in his arms and hands
as his jaw ticked in a fast rhythm.
The way he asked his question was more like a demand
"What were you doing with him?"
"I was giving Chase his English paper back" I replied and
then added, "He also had something to ask me."
"I know he had something to ask you." He growled, "I was
listening the whole time."
"Why would you eavesdrop?" I asked him as he pressed his
whole body against me but not enough to fully squash me.
He did not answer.
I poked his solid chest to tease him and to turn the
conversation light-hearted "Were you jealous?"
"I am not jealous." Stone gritted out, roughly.
"You are not?"
"Jealous is when you want something that is not yours." His
face moved until it was inches away from mine then he
growled “I am territorial. I am protecting what is already
mine."
I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes “I really want to slap
the smugness out of you."
The darkened eyes lightened a little as he replied, "I am
sure there will be a stepladder in here for you to do so."
"I am not small!" I stood on my toes but ended up just
falling onto his chest.
"The little fucker kissed you on the cheek." Stone grumbled
murderously to himself.
The funny thing was that Chase was over six foot, so he was
hardly little to a normal-sized human. He was to the giant in
front of me.
"A kiss on the cheek?" I repeated in shock "That is what has
got you riled up?"
"Drizella." He uttered my name darkly like it was a curse
and a prayer "I am envious of the wind that touches your
skin."
Stone closed any remaining space between us and I thought
he was about to kiss me when he gnarled again.
"What has got me wanting to destroy the little blonde prick
and take his pathetic life is that he is trying to get my girl."
The last two words sounded so tantalising and sensual
coming from his lips that my knees almost gave in.
"Your girl, huh?" I crossed my arms "Since when?"
"Since fucking always."
I went back on my heels and argued "Well that is the first of
me hearing about it."
He ignored my comment and instead darkly assured me
"You are my girl."
At his words, I tilted my head to face him again "You can't
just stop Chase from talking to me—"
"I can."
"I wouldn’t stop you from talking to Lacey." I countered
back.
It was my argument, but it was not a very strong one. If she
tried to speak to him again then I would probably try and
gauge out her eyes.
"Who the fuck is Lacey?" He replied and he sounded
genuinely clueless as to who I was speaking about.
If we were not arguing, then I might have twirled in glee.
I was not going to remind him of the pretty blonde who was
trying to flirt with him. Alternatively, I kept quiet and tried
not to kiss him.
I was scared of him. I was so scared of him but not in the
way everyone else was. He could hurt me. If I did not have
strong feelings for him then I would not have been terrified
of getting hurt.
Stone spoke but it was in a much softer tone "Are you
ignoring me now?"
"I am not ignoring you." I answered honestly "I am simply
evaluating. Sometimes I don't think I know you."
He cupped my face and gently moved my head upwards, so
I was looking at him.
"Ella, you know me better than anyone."
"Lana is upset about the whole disappearing act that
Brennan does and I don't know how I feel about it either."
The body against mine stilled and the wide shoulders
tensed.
I interpreted his tenseness as the cause of the earlier topic,
so I made sure he knew "I don't not like Chase. He is my
friend-ish and I don't have any romantic feelings for him."
The lip that was set in a frown twitched once.
"Although," I lingered on the words.
"Although what?" He replied in his deep commanding voice.
I smiled up at him "I am really starting to second guess
wanting a guy that pulls me into smelly closets and does not
bother to kiss me."
His smile turned to a full one and I could not help but mirror
his expression.
I leant on my toes and noticed that I only managed to reach
the top half of his chest, so I said, "Get down here, Lurch."
A chuckle left him, and his mouth twitched into a smile as
he stared down at me.
"Get down here." I ordered, motioning for him to bend down
closer to me "Or I will have to climb up there."
His laugh became closer as he leaned down and brushed a
piece of hair out my face.
Just when our lips brushed, the door to the closet gets
slammed open and we pulled apart.
Mr Dankworth stood in the doorway with an expression that
should not be on a teacher that had caught two students
kissing in a cleaning closet. He looked full of glee.
The English teacher sounded apologetic as he rambled on "I
am so sorry. This is usually where I go to get some peace
and quiet to read. Some loud birds sit on the window of the
classroom, and I cannot enjoy Dickens there. However, I will
find somewhere else to read today. See you crazy kids
around."
I was standing there gaping at him as he started walking out
of the small room.
The old teacher was about to shut the door but then felt the
need to add “I knew you two were getting together. You two
are just like something out of Pride and Prejudice."
The door closed and I let out a groan as I let my head fall
onto the well-built stomach.
Stone chuckled at my embarrassment, and I found myself
laughing into the chest of my darker, scarier, leather-jacket
wearing Mr Darcy.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Three
The deep voice commanded "Be ready for me in five
minutes."
After flicking through the channels for a good ten minutes, I
finally found something worth watching. Two grown women
pulling at each other's hair and fighting one another for
their same interest in a man.
I was no longer watching the television because my phone
rang from an incoming call from the giant.
"Where are we going?" I questioned while trying to keep my
excitement to a minimum.
"I am taking you out."
I smiled to myself before I asked, "Like as in a date taking
me out of as in an assassin taking me out?"
Stone chuckled before rasping out "Come and find out."
"How do I know it's worth my time?" I teased into the phone
"I think I might just stay here."
"I'm outside." The rough low voice grumbled playfully "Get
your tiny self down here now."
I hummed teasingly.
"Medusa."
"Yes, Lurch?"
"You are coming with me whether you like it or not." The
gruff sound escaped his throat demandingly "I will come up
there and drag you down."
He would do that. I knew he would. He had flung me over
his shoulder several times before. I was well acquainted
with his arms and shoulders.
I might have challenged him to throw me over his shoulder
again but the smell from the kitchen stopped me. I had just
had my dinner. If he threw me over his shoulder, my
stomach would probably react. The consequence could be
that his leather jacket gets ruined, and I did not want to do
that. I was planning to steal it at some point.
I really liked that jacket.
"You are going to have to convince me, Lurch." I voiced to
him while I turned the television off "At least give me a clue
on where we are going."
I was going to go and meet him, but I liked to see him all
agitated. It was not like he did not purposely go out of his
way to annoy me either.
Skipping through to the hall, I grabbed my jacket from the
coat-hanger before turning to face the mirror on the wall
and fixing my hair.
My black shirt had a skull and some flowers on it. It had a
low hanging V-neck so I spent some time arranging my
boobs so that there was the perfect amount of cleavage
showing.
"We might be going somewhere that involves books." The
deep voice on the other the end of the line informed.
"Okay." I sighed "But I do have boobs up here."
My eyes widened as the words left my mouth. My mouth
hung open when I released my mistake.
I was meant to say books, but I was too busy preoccupied
with fixing my boobs that the wrong word slipped out.
The phone line went quiet for a few seconds.
"We should definitely stay home then." Stone chuckled.
I could not think of anything to say so I hung up the phone
and made my downstairs to the ground floor of the
apartment building.
His large form and irritating smirk became visible as I
walked over to his black truck.
He watched me walk over to him with a glare and his
response was to smirk even more at me.
"It was autocorrect!" I blurted out lamely.
"We were on the phone."
"Be quiet, Lurch." I shushed him before murmuring jokingly
"I don't why I said it. I have never spoke about my boobs to
anyone before—"
Stone grumbled, a dark rumble of a noise "You better not
have."
The amusement in his eyes returned as I put my hands on
my hips and narrowed my eyes at him.
"I hate you, you big oaf." I laughed the words at him while
ignoring his hilarity at the situation and climbing into his
truck "Let's go."
He circled the truck, got in and started the engine while
stealing a few glances my way.
"Are you sure you do not want to stay home?" He
questioned amusedly "I was planning to carry you if you put
up a fight, but you have convinced me to stay."
As I put on my seatbelt, I glared at the side of his head. His
tone was smug and annoying, and I knew I was never going
to hear the end of my accidental boob speech.
"Drive." I tried to growl but it sounded too playful and not at
all like his animalistic growls.
We pulled off my street and drove along past the beach. I
was not paying attention to where we were going because I
was too busy glaring at the side of his head.
He kept his eyes on the road, but his lip twitched every so
often when I looked at him from my seat.
When we approached a set of lights, Stone gave me his full
attention as he mentioned "I have told you something about
me nobody knows but you have not told me anything."
I thought back to his love of Alice in Wonderland and I
smiled.
"Well, what do you want to know?" I replied.
Raising a brow, he let out a single laugh "If it is something
nobody knows then how would I know what to ask?"
"Smartass." I coughed but then I decided that it was only
fair to let him know something, so I admitted “I hate coffee
with a passion."
"That is a big secret?"
I nodded "Nobody else knows that."
He continued driving when the lights turned green, but he
shot me a look of confusion "Why is you not liking coffee a
secret?"
"I drink coffee because I feel I have to. A bookworm is
always depicted drinking a cup of coffee while reading. It is
pretty much a universal truth that coffee and books are the
perfect mix." I explained before further adding "When I read
at the library or at a cafe, I always order coffee and I
stomach it because I feel I need to. As a nerd, I have an
obligation to drink coffee."
The car went silent.
Then Stone tipped his head back and laughed.
It was deep and rough. It was loud and so unexpected that I
almost jumped out of my seat.
He remained to laugh while shaking his head to himself
"Where do you come up with this stuff?"
Turning slightly in my seat, I faced the side of him and
asked, "You are a classified book nerd, do you drink coffee?"
Stone nodded.
I then proved my point by asking him further "Have you
seen someone in a cafe reading with a hot chocolate or
tea?"
He remained silent and I was left feeling victorious.
"Let me guess. You only drink black coffee." I voiced with
certainty.
"What makes you think that?" He asked, his lip twitching.
"The colour matches your soul." I joked before adding on a
more serious note "I can’t see you sitting with a Frappuccino
with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles."
"Yes, Medusa." He confirmed, "I only drink black coffee."
I did not have any coffee in my apartment, so I made a
reminder to myself to buy some when I went grocery
shopping. I also needed to pick up some more apples
because he had wolfed down two bags of them last time.
"Tell me something else." He insisted persistently "Surely
there is more secrets to Drizella Miller."
I tried to think of something interesting about myself.
Nothing came to mind, and I was left with the thought that I
should probably pick up a new hobby.
When something finally popped into my mind, I told him
"When I was thirteen, I had a blog where I would post
theories every day."
"You had a blog when you were thirteen where you posted
theories?" He repeated.
"Is that not what I just said?" I sassily replied, watching his
lips move up in a minuscule smile.
He glanced at me, and he chuckled "That is so fucking
cute."
"I do not know what you are laughing at." I rolled my eyes
"Thirteen-year-old Ella knew what she was talking about. I
once got one hundred and fifty thousand views."
"What kind of theories did you write?"
Stone was definitely teasing me, but I was too far into the
conversation to turn back.
"Just the usual theories." I said before listing some of them
"Existence of aliens, alternative universes, Elvis still being
alive, time travel—"
"Wait." He stopped me mid-sentence "You think Elvis is still
alive?"
"Not so much now." I told him "I was eleven when I wrote
that one. There was a whole blog post about how Jailhouse
Rock was a hint that he was stuck in a prison of his own
making and faking his death was an escape. It was a load of
bullshit but my argument on it was very convincing."
He smiled evilly. A smile that I imagined the devil had just
before he released sin into the world.
"I am sure it was." He retorted "If you give the name of your
blog then you will have one more view to add to your one
hundred and fifty thousand."
"No way." I argued, knowing that he would be able to
terrorise me for the rest of my life with that kind of
information.
The street was dimly lit so I could not see that well where
we were, but it looked familiar. Really familiar.
I leaned forward in my seat and looked out of his window.
Once it hit me where we were, I looked to Stone who was
already watching me as he parked the black truck.
"Why are we at the library?" I asked before feeling the need
to mention "I doubt they are open at night."
"Come." He said as he opened the truck door.
I hesitantly opened the door and followed him.
He gently grabbed my arm when I walked over to him. He
pulled me to his side and then walked with my arm still in
the embrace of his calloused hand.
"We will miss it." He said as he took long strides that were
hard to keep up with.
I was going to question what we were going to miss but I
was unable to because I was out of breath trying to keep up
with his pace.
"Can you slow down?" I huffed as we walked inside the old
looking building "I am out of breath here, Lurch."
Stone did slow down and rubbed at my back like it would
magically make me fitter.
"Sorry, Medusa." He said with a chuckle "I forgot you had
such small legs."
I swatted his arm in response, following him into the large
open space filled with books.
The library was a lot more classic looking than other ones in
the city. The shelves were wooden, and they towered the
place. The place still had modern books, but a lot of the
largest aisles were filled with old hardbacks to fit the
aesthetic of the building.
I never really visited this particular library a lot. I should
have because I loved the feeling of the place. It reminded
me of the one from Beauty and The Beast and it made me
want to prance around the aisle of books.
The library however looked different. In the middle of the
large room, the shelves had been moved to clear a large
space. Instead of books, people were sat facing a white
sheet hung on the wall.
The white sheet had a black and white scene of Santa
Monica pier playing from the projector a few metres away.
At least fifty people were sitting in front of the scene
watching intently.
Turning my head away from the mini cinema to the awfully
quiet Lurch, I asked "What is going on here? Why is the
library even open at this time?"
He was about to reply but stopped when the film everyone
was watching started playing on the speakers.
The first words I heard were familiar from the film were "It
was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know—"
"By the name of Annabel Lee." I finished the line and looked
to Stone while tilting my head.
Stone did not meet my eye when explaining "In the thirties,
some actors from a theatre in Los Angeles came to Santa
Monica to practice film making. They filmed themselves
acting out Edgar Allan Poe poems. This library has the only
copy on film, and they show it every year."
I was lost for words. Completely and utterly stunned into
silence.
He picked up on my silence and quickly added as he rubbed
his jaw "I thought you would like it but if you want to go
somewhere else then—"
My excitement could not be contained any longer. I let out a
high-pitched squeal that surprised Stone and myself.
Thinking about how much I did not want to miss a single
poem, I grabbed his hand without thinking and pulled him to
where everyone was sitting.
Once we were sat in the crowd of people, the warmth in my
fingers travelled to my face as I realised that I had grabbed
his hand.
I tried to pull away, but he did not let me.
I did not try to untangle our fingers again, but I raised an
eyebrow at him.
While squeezing my hand, he nonchalantly told me "It is
mine now."
To hide my smile, I focused on the screen where a man sat
on a cliff's edge and looked to the sky. My eyes stayed glued
to the screen as a few more poems were acted out.
I did not understand why the films were never shown in the
theatre. They were amazing and beautiful. I did not watch a
lot of black and white movies but this one I could not
imagine in colour.
It was perfect in monochrome. It was perfect the way it was.
Kind of like the guy who was beside me who laughed at my
quoting of every line from memory.
"I feel bad." I whispered from beside me.
He was already watching me when I turned to face him.
Stone frowned and asked, "Why?"
"You are kind of losing your street credit by being here." I
told him with a small laugh "Imagine if I told someone at
school that the terrifying silent giant was sitting watching
people from ninety years ago reciting poetry. They would
never believe me."
The hand which was not clutching mine reached out to
move a piece of hair from my face as he questioned "Why
do you feel bad about that?"
"You have to sit here through this with me." I stated like it
was obvious "I don't even know if you like Edgar Allan Poe."
"I have read a few of his poems." He said back and then
added, "I would have read more if a small green girl did not
steal her book back."
"How did you even know about this?" I motioned to the
screen.
He did not answer.
"Stone, thank you." I told him and meant it "I think this is
the nicest and most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done
for me."
His large arm nestled around my waist before he lifted me
onto his lap. His attention went on to the screen as he did so
as he overlooked my shoulder.
I was going to argue but I figured I owed him for his gesture
so instead I turned my head to the side and glared at him,
but I did not move.
"Next time we will do something that you love doing." I
whispered to him
He said lowly against my neck "What did you have in mind?"
"I don't know." I voiced before thinking of something "We
could always just go to a public place and glare at
everybody to scare them away. You love doing that."
His glare was not successful because he ended up letting
out a rough laugh after it. This was also after I let out a
small giggle.
A smart comeback was probably on the edge of his lips but
a middle-aged man in front of us turned around and
shushed us.
The angry shusher in front of us quickly apologised after
meeting the gaze of the scary man I was resting on.
Covering my mouth to stop myself from laughing, I focused
back on the short film playing. I let my head rest back on to
his chest as I remained to lose myself in the words of the
poet.
I watched it intently for a while until I saw that Stone was
not watching it
"Are you bored?" I asked in a hushed voice over my
shoulder
"No." He replied, still not even bothering to look at the
screen.
I moved my head back so I could look up at him and I could
utter "Then why are you just watching me?"
"Because you are beautiful." His mouth said against my hair
"You are also mouthing every word. I am not missing a
thing."
Flustered, I tried to hide half my face by pressing myself into
his jacket. I could feel his laughter by the vibrations of his
chest. The last poem was being performed so I focused on
that instead of his compliment.
I attempted to put it to the back of my mind anyway. I do
not see how it was possible when he was pressed up against
me and his lips were near my jaw.
"The only thing that would make this better is if there were
gummy bears." I said but it was more to myself to plan for
the next time that I left the house.
Stone moved from behind me and fetched something out of
the pocket of his leather jacket. I heard rustling before he
put something on my lap.
He had bought me a packet of gummy bears.
I grinned up at him before I opened them and started
picking out the apple flavoured green ones and handing
them to him.
"Thank you, Medusa."
It was still hard to believe that he had planned something
like this for me. What I said about it being the nicest thing
anyone had done for me was true. It was probably an
understatement.
Watching the man on the screen talk to the raven, I thought
about how I had no idea how to even start to show my
appreciation to Stone.
Nothing seemed a big enough thank you.
The credits on the short film rolled. I could not help but feel
disappointed. Disappointed that the marathon of dark
poems was finished and that I had to pull away from him.
Without letting go of his hand, we stood up and walked out
of the library. I pretty much skipped out of the library feeling
giddy and grateful. He watched me amusedly as I twirled on
my toes.
When we stepped outside the main door of the library, I
pulled him closer to me and directed him towards the side
of the building instead of the parking lot.
He followed willingly as I led him to a side alley and leant
my back against the wall.
I rose on my toes when he neared the front of my body.
Stone watched as I stretched upwards and then he took pity
and lifted me up, so I was at eye level with him.
Before I could lean in, he kissed me.
His lips collided with mine. His arms wrapped around my
waist instantly and mines tangled hastily behind his neck to
bring him closer. He lightly nudged my chin up so he could
deepen the ferocity of the kiss. It was full of need and
desire. His tongue trailed over my lip before meeting my
own as my lips parted more to let him take over. Stone
demanded dominance and I happily complied.
It should have been impossible to have felt as much sweet
pleasure and warmth from merely a kiss.
It was not mere. It was everything. It was scary how
addicted I found myself to the kiss. To his kiss.
I could not imagine it ending or wanting it to.
Unfortunately, it did. We pulled away as our need for oxygen
matched our need for each other.
Stone did not let go of my waist and he instead kept his
forehead against mine as he huskily asked, "What was that
for?"
"It was a thank you." I revealed "Thank you for bringing me
here. I loved it."
He chuckled against my lips before he roughly let out “A kiss
for bringing you here? It is a real fucking shame that they
only show it once a year."
I released a small breathy laugh, and I was about to kiss him
again when my phone went off.
Disappointedly, I pulled back and bit my lip to stop myself
from letting out a moan of discontent while looking at my
phone.
"Hello?" I spoke while I put the phone to my ear.
"Hey, my bestest friend in my world." Lana replied, "You
know I love you more than anything, right?"
"What are you after?" I asked into the phone "It better not
be a Barbie marathon again."
"Brennan just picked me up from my house to go to the pier.
It is really awkward." She sighed before pleading with me
"Can you come?"
"You want me to come with you on your date?"
"Please." She replied "I have convinced Brennan to text
Stone as well so you will not be alone.
I looked up to Stone and he was reading his phone too. He
must have sensed that I was staring at him because he
turned his attention from the phone to me.
"Ice cream?" I insisted nicely to the giant.
"I am going to kill Brennan." He grumbled under his breath.
I let out a small laugh as we walked back to his truck.
Stone sped down the road and he looked to be deep in
thought. Whenever the road was not busy, and the traffic
did not require attention then he would look my way.
"I had a really good time." I spoke up.
"When did you start liking Edgar Allan Poe?"
I laughed before looking down at my lap and admitting "I
meant that I had a good time with you, you jumbo-sized
jackass."
He never said anything until he howled a deep laugh. I
joined in and laughed into the wind as I rolled down the
window to the truck.
The ice cream parlour was not that busy when we arrived. A
few people occupied the booths and that included Lana and
Brennan who were sitting at the same seats we were at
when we all met.
"So, you two just bumped into each other?" Brennan asked
us both, looking unconvinced at our lie.
Stone silently nodded and I acted like I was concentrating
on devouring my mint chocolate chip ice cream cone to hear
him.
Once Brennan dropped the question, I looked up from the
delicious green gloop and spoke "What have you two been
up to?"
None of them looked in a rush to reply.
"Let me guess." I tapped my chin and lore tended to think
"It is Brennan so no doubt he took you to get a candy apple
to reminisce on how you two met."
"You know me so well, Little Ella." Brennan replied, "That
was my plan after we left here."
Lana had not spoken since we first arrived.
The place we sat together was where Lana and Brennan met
back when it was all rainbows and butterflies. What was left
was an awkward silence.
The pier and the ice cream place were also where I met him.
Things had changed from back then, but they had also
stayed the same. Everything had been heightened since
then.
When I peered at him now, I realised that the feeling I had
when I looked at him was the same feeling that I had the
night of our meeting and every time with him since. It was
just a lot more obvious.
I guess it took me a while to address the big elephant in the
room or more appropriately the big Lurch in the room.
I had meant every word when I told him that I had liked him
from the start. What I lied about was how much.
Eating the remaining spoonful of ice cream and staring at
him, I was not paying attention to anything else.
That is why Lana felt the need to kick me under the table to
gain it.
I jolted in my seat and looked to her, telepathically asking
What is it?
She communicated back We need to talk.
I nodded my head at her in understanding before we both
got up from the booth.
Stone's gaze remained on me the same as it was a minute
ago but one of his dark eyebrows had raised.
Brennan's expression was similar, but he voiced what he
was thinking "Where are you going?"
The person who he wanted to answer did not and that left
me to quickly think on my feet.
I ended up blurting out "We are away to powder our nose."
"Powder your nose?" Stone chuckled at my pathetic excuse
of an excuse "Are you also away to travel back to the
nineteenth century?"
I rolled my eyes "Would you rather I say I was away to
urinate?"
Lana and I scurried away from the boys to the bathroom. As
soon as the door to the bathroom closed, she looked around
for a sign of anyone else being there. She confirmed that
there was nobody in the cubicles before she let out a small
breath.
"What is going on, Lana?" I asked while putting a hand on
her arm to stop her from pacing.
She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then told me "I
don't know. I am confused."
"About Brennan?"
Nodding, she pulled herself onto the edge of the sink for a
seat "Sometimes it is so good between us. We get on well
and we laugh, and he is amazing. He is more than amazing."
"But?"
"But.” She started to explain "Other times I feel that am
forcing everything between us."
I joined her by sitting on the sink next to her as I questioned
"You think you are forcing your feelings for him?"
"It sounds stupid." She huffed "Surely this is a just a phase
and I will feel different in the long run."
"Maybe but it might not be." I insisted before adding "I just
want you to be happy and sure of yourself."
I felt guilty and I felt like I had betrayed Brennan. It was a
confusing situation because Lana was my best friend, but
Brennan also meant something to me.
My parents never had any children other than me, and I had
always wanted a brother. If I could have picked anyone in
the world to be my brother, then I would choose Brennan
without a doubt.
"What do I do?" She sighed.
"I know best friends always know best but I really do not
know." I tried to be helpful "Brennan is a great guy but if you
are not happy with him then you need to be honest with
yourself."
She nodded as she let her head fall on my shoulder.
"I am terrible at this kind of stuff. I am sorry." I replied
lamely "I have never had an epic romance or a great love
story."
Lana seemed to brighten up at my words and she cocked
her head with a smile "Are you not?"
I did not miss how she used present rather than past.
The chequered floor looked like a good place to focus on
instead of her.
At my action, she laughed "Like you said best friends always
know best."
Still avoiding confronting what she was hinting at, I patted
her back "Let's go back. He will be wondering where you
are. Talk to him. If he tries to buy you a candy apple or take
you on the Ferris wheel, then work with him. Maybe you will
reconnect."
We walked out of the bathroom and made our way back
over to the two who were already watching us.
Lana at least appeared a bit calmer than she did before. She
offered Brennan a smile which he returned instantly.
On the other side of the table, I stuck my tongue out at
Stone who was smirking in his seat.
Brennan started a conversation with Lana while Stone
leaned closer and rested his thick muscled arms on the
table.
His voice was a deep low noise "What was that all about?"
"I just had to tell Lana some stuff." I kept my answer as
vague as possible.
"Like what?"
I gave him my biggest and sweetest smile "Just telling her
how amazing and how smart Valentine Stone is."
He smirked and his reply was dripping with sarcasm
"Really?"
"Of course."
Stone shook his head while chuckling "What drugs did this
place put in your ice cream?"
"I can compliment you." I argued before giving an example
"Lurch, you have an excellent taste in companionship to
take to an Edgar Allan Poe film showing."
An hour passed with several backhanded compliments
between us. He definitely had a few good insults but not
enough to win the round.
Brennan pitched into our conversation by smirking at Stone
and asking me "Ella, is Stone your type?"
"No," I joined teams with Brennan to tease Stone "I usually
go for more well-built and larger guys."
It was a complete and utter lie. There was nobody bigger
than Valentine Stone.
The giant sat back in his chair and silently challenged me
like he did not believe me for one second.
His question came out as a small growl "Like who?"
I shrugged "Brennan is pretty buff."
"Yeah. I am." Brennan added, kissing his arm muscles.
Another growl from Stone and then the two males decided
to go against each other in an arm-wrestling match.
Poor Brennan had to get his dislocated shoulder put back
into the socket after.
We all got up and left the ice cream parlour. By the time we
were outside, none of the rides nor stalls were open. The
pier was only lit up by the lights on the railings.
I slowed my pace so Lana and Brennan could get a few
yards in front, so they had the opportunity to speak.
Stone hung back with me, and it was not long before he
started the teasing again.
He eventually asked, "So what are we going to do about
them then?"
"What do you mean?" I questioned, wondering if he had
picked up on the tension between the two.
"We told them we bumped into each other." He mentioned
before adding "I am your ride home"
"We could just make a run for it and ditch them here." I
joked then gave him a real answer "I can just walk home."
"Not happening." Stone dismissed the idea in his
commanding voice "I am not letting you walk home, and I
am not missing out on watching you pretend to hate inviting
me inside your apartment."
I nudged him "Who says I am letting you inside?"
He shot me a cocky grin and I glowered at him.
"Especially after that stunt you pulled last night with the
heating." I added, pretending to be angry about it.
I was going to let him in, but I would make him wait outside
my door for a good ten minutes to appear that I was not
eager for his presence.
I changed it to five minutes when he saw me shiver from the
night air and he placed his leather jacket over my shoulders.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mr Dankworth's classroom was one of the most aesthetically
pleasing places I had ever been. I appreciated the
handwritten book quotes stuck on the wall and the books
lining the shelves.
Lana took her seat next to me and pulled out her English
notes before she spoke to the three of us "My parents are
having a barbecue tonight and they told me to invite all of
you."
Both males behind us nodded their head. The one I stole a
glance at smirked at me.
I whispered to the blonde girl “I thought you were only
inviting Brennan?"
When I was watching Addams Family on the sofa with the
large giant after we had gotten back from the pier, Lana had
texted and talked about inviting Brennan to hers for dinner.
She must have changed her mind.
"Charlie is getting dropped off by my aunt because she has
an appointment." Lana told me before she added "It was not
going to be just Brennan and my parents anyway. Plus, you
are the only one that can handle Charlie."
Her little cousin Charlie was five and a troublemaker. I liked
to think of him as a kindred spirit. He was the mini creature
that helped me realise that I wanted to pursue a job that
involved kids and teaching.
Lana and her parents were always surprised at how well
Charlie behaved when I was around. That led to many
babysitting sessions with him. Not that I minded. I got on
well with the small boy and it gave me an excuse to go to
places such as the arcade and ice cream place.
"So, I’m only getting invited tonight to babysit?" I accused.
"Of course not. I want you there." She argued and then she
smiled "My Mom wants you there and for you to bring your
boyfriend."
I blinked before repeating "My what?"
There was a small grumble from behind me that sounded
like a volcano exploding.
Lana motioned to behind me "She told me to invite Stone."
I had not sat down and spoke to Lana about my feelings
towards Stone. I was scared to. I did not want to throw it in
her face that I was getting on so well with the giant when
she was barely making it through the relationship.
"He is not my boyfriend." I denied before making the point
of pointing backwards to strengthen my half-lie "I am not
anything to him—"
I did not believe that I was nothing to him, but I thought that
maybe the others would buy my lie and believe that I was
insignificant to Stone.
A dark chuckle was heard before the large body behind me
leant close until he was behind my ear "Finish that
sentence."
Stone sounded furious.
That was the moment when Mr Dankworth decided to stand
up and start the class.
"I have decided to give you some time in class for your
paired essays." He announced, "I know what you are all like
these days and you think that everything is better over
social media and phone, but the best way is face to face."
Multiple sighs were heard across the room, but I did not
hear any from the desk situated behind mine.
"So, get in your pairs and ask each other questions. Deep
ones. I do not want to be reading what your partner
watched on TV last night." Mr Dankworth instructed.
I could sense a pair of eyes on the back of my neck. The
dark gaze made my whole body feel warm like I was on fire
in the best possible way.
I let out an exaggerated groan so I could hide my smile as I
grabbed my bag and moved into the seat next to the large
angry looking Goliath.
The class moved around, and the people arranged
themselves into their pairs. Lana stayed where she was and
waited for her partner to come over. Brennan moved a few
rows in front so I could take his seat.
Instead of a normal greeting like a hello or how are you, I
got a growl.
"You think that you are nothing to me?" Stone demanded to
know, his rough voice deepening.
"No. Of course not." I replied and then joked "I think I am a
nuisance to you."
He did not find my remark funny and instead he grabbed my
chair. His two huge hands gripped the seat at each side of
my legs. He picked up the chair and lifted it so I was facing
him fully.
My eyes widened as he neared until he was millimetres
away from my face.
"You are mine." He grumbled "You are everything."
"Last time I checked I think I was Ella." I deadpanned.
His eyes lightened slightly. Maybe it had done with my
humour or maybe it had to do with our proximity.
Opening my notepad and tapping my pencil, I stuck my
tongue out at him and acted like I was not happy about the
change in seating. I had never been happier about a seating
arrangement since I won a round of musical chairs back in
middle school.
"Do you have anything to ask me for your assignment?" I
asked curiously before mentioning "I think I have all the
material I need for my essay."
He raised a brow and his deep voice spoke against the top
of my head "Do you?"
"Yep." I replied and started to write a sentence on my page
of paper.
I wrote my sentence before I picked up my notebook and
faced it his way then I read out my starter sentence aloud
"Valentine Stone is gigantic. He is also a gigantic pain in my
ass."
His lip moved up as he watched me excitedly tell him about
my plans to write all about him in the most teasing way
possible.
I shrugged "I think my opening line is fantastic. It introduces
the rest of what I will talk about in the essay."
"Just don’t say Valentine."
I was about to make a comment on how one time he was
asking me to say his name, but I decided to keep my mouth
shut.
A question came to mind, and I asked, "Do you not like your
name?"
Stone shook his head.
There was no way he could find Valentine a worse name
than Drizella.
"Why do you not like your name?" I asked before I ended up
blurring out "It is totally sexy."
He let out a small deep chuckle.
I ended up blurting out to try and save myself from the
humiliation of my last comment "Your name kind of sounds
like something found in a jewellery store."
Smirking, Stone tried to glare away at me, but it was short
lived as he looks at my smile.
"You know what I will just write your name as Val instead." I
teased to try and get back at him for laughing at me.
"No. You will not."
"Cheer up, Val." I said as I winked at him "I will not call you
that. I already have enough nicknames for you as it is."
Continuing with my taunting, I hid my notebook close to my
chest and pretended to write something.
He twirled his pencil in his finger as he gave me his
unfaltering attention "What are you writing?"
"My essay," I replied "And I am not showing you the final
product until I am finished. Maybe not even then."
Stone let out a husky laugh at my actions before he
mirrored my stance so he could hide his piece of paper. His
notepad was moved to his knee so I could not see what he
was writing.
I did not like it. I wanted to see what he was writing about
me.
His pencil touched the paper, and he scribbled something
down. I could not see what it is was even though my neck
was stretched like a giraffes.
He noticed my spying and voiced what he had supposedly
wrote "Drizella Miller thinks Elvis is still alive. She is mad."
"How do you like mine?" I asked before pretending to read
my page and making up a starter sentence on the spot
"Stone's favourite book is Alice in Wonderland. The quote
says all the best people are mad. I think this suggests that I
am his favourite person ever."
Time passed with small glances at each other while writing.
I jotted down little things I had picked up over my time with
him that I could talk about in the assignment.
However, I could not string words together to make a full
sentence yet. So instead, I started making a list of things
about him. My favourite things about him.
Stone seemed to be doing the same. He was not writing that
much and instead he was more interested watching as I
laughed from behind my notepad.
A tap on the desk drew my attention for my paper to him.
He leaned back in the chair as he questioned "How are you
getting on?"
"Good." I hummed "I am nearly done describing your bad
qualities. I have went past five hundred words already
though."
He sent another glare my way but he had a small smile on
his face. It was not fair how even a small smile on him was
alarmingly darkly charming.
Before I could back out of asking, I quickly forced my words
out "Were you planning on going to Lana's after school?"
"Do you want me there?"
"I would not complain if you were there." I said as I smiled
down at the ground.
A rough laugh was heard from beside me before he spoke
again "Good. I was going anyway."
Mr Dankworth got up from his swirly chair at his desk and
started to walk around the class as he addressed everyone
"Because I am such a great teacher and you are my
favourite class, I have made questions for you to ask your
partner. These will help you get to know one another
properly. It will also help you write your essay when it comes
to it."
I watched as my teacher made his way around around
everyone and handed out small sheets of paper to the pairs
around the room.
The grey-haired English teacher left our table to the very
end. He grinned at both Stone and I as he handed us a piece
of paper and then retreated to his desk at the front of the
room.
"Okay, Lurch. First question" I said and then went on to read
the question to him without looking at it beforehand "Are
you attracted to green hair?"
I opened my mouth in shock before I looked back down at
the paper.
The question had made the corner of his mouth rise.
"Medusa," He did gruffly and seriously "You already know
the answer to that."
"No. I do not."
He cocked his head "I love your hair."
"Says the guy that called it puke coloured when we first
met." I rebutted.
Stone shook his head as he chuckled.
I added "Also says the guy that I look like a haunted
mansion extra."
The amusement I showed about the whole thing was not
shared with him as a serious expression took over his harsh
features.
"I did not mean it." He stated and his eyes pierced into me "I
just wanted to meet you so fucking badly."
My cheeks blushed and I had the urge to cover my face with
my notepad.
"You did not need to pretend that your question was one on
the sheet." He mentioned.
"It really was on the sheet though." I argued honestly.
He read aloud what was on his sheet of questions "Do you
find yourself attracted to tattoos?"
I grabbed the paper out of his hand to see for myself the list
of questions he had. My jaw dropped at the typed-up sheet.
My eyes scanned the oddly specific inquiries.
Are you attracted to tall height? Do you like names that are
related to rocks? Would you consider your dream
relationship including bickering and hate flirting? Do you
believe in love at first sight? Do you have a date for the Fall
Ball?
There was no way that I was answering those because it
was supposed to be an essay and not a round of speed
dating.
In the seat in front, Lana swivelled around in her chair and
mouthed help me while pointing to her partner who was
sitting there doing nothing.
Wondering if she had tailored questions as well, I replied
"What questions did you get on your sheet?"
She looked back down to her desk and then answered "Just
trivial stuff. Biggest fear, favourite movies and other stuff
like that. Why?"
"No reason." I nonchalantly responded while zoning on past
her to Mr Dankworth who was sitting happily looking at the
computer.
Mr Dankworth took his job extremely seriously. He had gone
to extreme lengths by making put those questions.
I focused back to Stone who was already watching me with
a glint of amusement in his obsidian irises.
He met my gaze and pointed out "You never answered the
question."
"What?"
"Are you attracted to tattoos?" He asked as his own tattoos
came into view as he ran a hand through his hair.
Reading between the lines, I knew what he was really asking
so I answered, "You already know the answer to that."
"Yeah. I do." He agreed smugly "I just wanted to see you
squirm as you tried to deny it."
Rolling my eyes at his cockiness, I countered back with "I
have never said I was not attracted to you. You are
ridiculously good looking. I have never argued against that."
He raised an eyebrow and disbelief was written all over the
small action.
"Okay. Maybe I did deny it." I admitted in the form of a
mumble "I just did not want you to know that I found you
attractive."
"I knew, Medusa."
Crossing my arms, I commented "It is a real shame that you
have a shitty personality, or you would have been the
perfect guy."
He raised an eyebrow again. Even without a word from him,
I knew he knew I was lying.
The lie was bitter on my tongue. I could only hold in the
inevitable for so long.
I wish there was a stronger word than like or attraction
because that is what I felt.
In the next second, I caved "Fine. I’m lying."
Stone's deep chuckle filled my ears once more and I
revelled in the dark melodious sound.
"Shut up and get on with your essay!" I said after a while of
us been caught in an intense eye lock.
"Medusa" He said after a while.
I looked up from my paper and blew a hair out of my face
before I replied "Yes, Lurch?"
"I am not attracted to green hair. I am attracted to you." He
spoke sternly like he was making sure I knew "I like your
green because it is you. Your hair is so bright that
sometimes I cannot see anything else."
Trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach, I smiled down
at my desk like a weirdo.
The determination to start my essay was over before it
started because something entering the room caught my
eye.
Chase waltzed into the class ten minutes before the period
finished without a care in the world. He noticed the change
in seating and winked at me before going to sit with his
partner up front.
Out of politeness, I offered him a small wave.
The interaction stirred the person next to me because a low
octaved gnarl erupted from him. The bellow was followed by
something being grumbled under his breath as he moved
his vein-bulged hand in and out of a fist.
"I was just trying to be friendly." I pointed out in a light tone.
My light tone was a contrast to his deep one that promised
bloodshed as he bit out "He is being too friendly."
"He is my friend. What do you expect?" I said before I tell
him "I am not going to stop talking to him because you do
not like it."
Everyone knew Chase and I were not the closest. Including
back when it was more than a few words between us. The
truth was I was not really defending my friendship with the
blonde quarterback. It was more proving a point of principal
to Stone. I could talk to whoever I wanted.
Stone tilted his head. The action was almost a challenge.
The subtitles of his little head motion scream You bet that I
cannot keep him away from you?
The giant had perfected the skill of being intimidating
without every trying. His dangerous aura was effortless and
authentic.
"You need to let me talk to who I want. You can’t just decide
that I can’t talk to Chase." I pointed out before I added "If
you want something to command then get a dog."
We glared at each other. I kept eye contact, so he knew that
I was not going to back down. Neither did he break contact.
"Fine." He finally growled out.
I was not convinced so I further elaborated "So I can walk to
my locker with him for example and you will not go full on
hulk?"
Silence.
He leant back in his chair and crossed his arms, his muscles
flexing as he did so.
Stone then nodded but it was sharp and quick. If you
blinked, then you would have missed it.
"And you will not mind?" I added
"Of course, I will fucking mind." He grounded out as his jaw
tightened.
With a sigh, I faced the front in my seat.
The large skull tattooed hand made its way onto my thigh as
I kept my attention to the front of the class.
I could not stay mad at him, and I ended up sending him a
faux glare that turned into a smile. He sent a small smile
back.
Brennan was watching us in his chair from a few yards away
as I turned away from Stone.
"You two are a match made in Bedlam." Brennan said with a
shark grin "Cupid must be crazy to put the two of you
together. Two of the most strong willed and stubborn people
that I have ever met who are crazy for each other. Although
it is crazy to think about you both without each other."
I could not imagine my life without him either.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Five
The rest of the day went by in boring classes and never-
ending note taking. What had me distracted was the
thought of Lana's mom's cooking. I was really looking
forward to not cooking for myself.
In the past, I had always been eager to go to the
Armstrong's because it meant that I would not be alone.
That thought had not crossed my mind in the present
because I had not felt lonely the past few days.
That was due to my overgrown overnight guest.
We took two cars to Lana's house. Brennan and Lana in one
car. Stone and I in the other. I was unsure if they had
realised that I was no longer taking Kermit to school but
instead arriving with Stone. Maybe they did know and just
wanted to leave us to it.
The three of us waited behind while Lana opened her front
door. We followed her inside as she let her mom know we
were there.
Not long after, Mrs Armstrong sauntered into the room, and
she looked happy to see us. She kissed her daughter’s
cheek and then went to hug me. She then stood in front of
the two boys with a warming smile.
Brennan began charming her "Thank you for having us
again, Mrs Armstrong."
"You are always welcome here." She waved him off and
focused on the other male who was not that inclined to talk
"You too, Stone dear."
That earned her a small nod from the giant. It was
something anyway. It was enough for Mrs Armstrong to not
be disheartened by the small greeting.
"Ella, a small visitor has been waiting for your arrival. He is
very excited to see you." Lana's mother told me before
calling the little boy's name "Charlie!"
The five-year-old came racing through from the other room.
As soon as he seen us standing at the door, a grin appeared
on his small face, and it showed off his two missing front
teeth.
I bent down automatically and got ready to embrace him. I
was mortified when I realised that he had grown and was
about half the size of me.
His little arms coddled me as he shouted excitedly "I have
missed you, Drizzy."
Drizzy was his nickname for me. I absolutely hated the
shortened name of Drizella that he decided to start calling
me at the age of two. I never corrected him or tried
enforcing a different name because his little face lit up when
he said the nickname. He was too cute for his own good.
"I have missed you too, Cutie." I said back and matched his
grin.
Charlie moved his hand from my back to my cheek and
scolded "You need to babysit me again. We have not played
together since forever."
"Later." I promised him.
Lana interrupted by pretending to cry "How about some love
for your actual cousin?"
"Sorry, Lan Lan." Charlie pouted while moving over to her
and giving her a hug "I did see you yesterday. I have not
seen Drizzy in a million years."
Brennan laughed and waved at the boy "Hey little dude, I
am Brennan. Lana's boyfriend."
Just noticing the two new faces, Charlie rushed back to my
side and hid his face in my stomach. I patted the top of his
head and encouraged him not to be shy.
"Hi." Charlie waved at Brennan.
The small boy then turned and tilted his head upward to see
the other guy in the room.
Stone towered me so it was understandable for Charlie to
see him as a beanstalk.
"Wow. He is a giant." The infant said as he laughed in my
arms.
Everyone started laughing and even Stone let out a chuckle.
The boy attached to my side broke away and pointed
towards Stone "Big Giant Man, you can’t be Drizzy's
boyfriend."
Brennan laughed and asked him "Why not?"
"Because I am her boyfriend." Charlie pouted "She likes me
better."
I watched as the young troublemaker skipped out of the
room and into the kitchen. I kept my head in that direction,
so I did not meet the eye of Stone.
His response however I could not help but tune in to.
It was a deep grumble that sounded a lot like "Lucky
bastard."
"He is five." Brennan lowly said as if he was trying to contain
his laughter.
Mrs Armstrong ushered us through the house and into the
garden. The sun set was clear from the low levelled fence
and turned the grass a golden colour. Mr Armstrong was
flipping burgers on the barbecue and putting the ready food
on the table as we stepped outside.
We all hovered at the back door when Stone turns to me
with a taunting expression.
"Why does the boy get to call you a nickname without the
verbal abuse?" He asked.
"He is cute." I answered and then added "You are not."
His smirk was summoned as he retorted "No, you just find
me hot."
I was about to lie my pants off but I bit my tongue when
realising that he was quoting me from earlier. I tried to rack
my brain for a life-shattering insult, but I could not seem to
find any.
A mini hand grabbed mine and saved me from stuttering out
a reply to him.
The small saviour dragged me away to go and play with his
action figures. I happily gave in and sat down next to him on
the large patch of grass.
Charlie handed me a superhero figurine while asking
causally "Do you like that big boy, Drizzy?"
"What?"
"I know that you are not really my girlfriend." Charlie said
before explaining "I just told him that to protect you, but I
can see that he likes you."
"What?" I said again "Why do you think that?"
His attention was on the superman figure when he replied,
"He watches you and I think he finds you pretty."
I wondered what my life had come to. I was sitting listening
to a pre-schooler’s thoughts on my relationship.
"Thank you, my little knight for protecting me." I kissed his
forehead and then whispered, "Do you want to know
something top secret?"
"Yes, yes, yes." The little boy cheered.
"Promise not to tell anyone?" I voiced while peering over at
Stone who was standing at the other side of the garden,
watching the both of us.
Charlie held out his little and I stuck mine out too as he
pinky promised me.
That is when I moved in closer to share with him "I really like
him."
"Do you really, really, really like him?" He asked, beaming.
"Yes. I really, really, really, really like him" I replied honestly
before reminding him "Don't tell anyone. Especially the
giant."
"Is he your Prince Charming?" The little boy asked with a
grin of delight.
"No," I answered as I let my gaze float back to the largely
built man "He is more like my big scary dragon."
After three rounds of superhero smash with Charlie, Mrs
Armstrong called Lana and I to go inside and help her carry
the food out. She got Lana to put out chips into a bowl and
me to butter the rolls in the kitchen while the boys helped
Mr Armstrong with the barbecue.
While I was spreading the bread, I was bombarded with
questions. All about him.
"What is happening with you and Stone?" Mrs Armstrong
questioned before informing "You need to make your move.
Get your man."
I was so not ready for the conversation. It was too daunting
to think about. I was comfortable with just continuing to act
oblivious to everything.
I let out a laugh and shook my head at her words of wisdom
"He is not my man."
My whole face grew red, and my mouth twitched upwards as
I looked down at the ground.
I found myself always wanting to discuss Stone and I with
Lana. I needed someone to share it all with, but I did not
want to hurt her. She was going through a lot with Brennan,
and I still did not want to bombard her with stuff that she
did not need to be worrying about.
Lana hummed in agreement with her mother "You should
see them at school. The sexual tension is out of this world."
My response to her comment was to stick my finger in the
butter and smear it on her nose. That resulted in her
squealing before wiping it away.
“Mrs Armstrong, you know what I’m like with guys. I have
horrible taste.” I blurted out before realising what I had said
“No offense.”
The woman waved me off “I know what my son is like.”
My relationship or my not-so-existence relationship since he
moved to Australia with his band with the elder Armstrong
sibling was a taboo subject.
We carried the plates and the cold food to the wooden table
outside where the boys sat.
Brennan seemed to be making small talk with Lana's dad
and surprisingly Stone was listening intently to Charlie
talking about his explanation of Superman's powers.
Stone then startled talking back to him which earned a
laugh from the little boy. I watched them in awe as they
conversed, and I was also in awe that the infamous silent
giant had spoken to him.
Both the large male and the small troublemaker lowered
their voice as I reached the table and placed the buttered
rolls in the middle of the table.
There was not even a single thought behind my action. It
was all instinctual of me to automatically go and it myself
down in the seat by Stone.
The dark eyes turned to me as soon as I sat down. I smiled
at him as he put a hand on my leg under the table.
It never failed to make me laugh how he was a little too big
for everything. Stone looked too big for the seat with his
wide shoulders. His knees had hit the bottom of the wooden
table also.
Charlie walked over me with two of his action figures in
hand and jumped on my lap. He swivelled his legs so he
could sit and face me with a smile
"Stone is a friendly giant, Drizzy." The young chaos causer
announced loudly while patting my head "No wonder you
really, really, really, really like him."
"I’m never telling you anything again." I whispered down to
the little traitor "And you can forget about me taking you for
ice cream when I babysit you next."
Charlie looked up and pouted but there was nothing
apologetic about the action.
The rest of the table laughed at the scene, from what I could
see. I could not bring myself to look at Stone's face although
I could hear his husky chuckle.
Brennan put the thumbs up at the boy on my lap in praise
and then asked, "What else did she say?"
Before Charlie could answer, I planted my hand on his
mouth to stop him from speaking.
It was not like I told him anything else that could humiliate
me, but I was not prepared to risk it. I reached over and
took a burger from the pile and replaced my hand on his
face with it.
Thankfully he chewed happily away and did not answer
Brennan.
I quickly glanced at Stone who was watching me like a
hawk.
Once he saw that I was paying attention to him, he leaned
to the side and closer to my seat as he spoke "How does the
kid get a confession out of you, and I do not?"
"You know that I like you." I admitted again as my gaze fell
to the ground "I have already told you that."
He smirked and he built up his teasing tone when he added
a really to his sentence "You never told me that you really,
really, really really, really liked me."
"I only said really four times. Not five." I corrected him
before I crossed my arms over my chest "At this moment in
time, I do not like you at all Lurch."
He shook his head with triumph etched all over his
handsomely striking features
Just when I thought I had escaped being humiliated any
further, Mr Armstrong took the opportunity to prove me
wrong as he voiced "I had been wondering where I had
heard Lurch before."
"What?" I said as I pretended not to know what he was
talking about.
Lana's father asked, "Was Lurch not the guy in that movie
that you had a crush on when you were little?"
"I-I have no idea what you are talking about." I countered
back with.
Mr Armstrong being oblivious to my hand signals telling him
to shut up continued to talk "You were about twelve at the
time. You came around here all the time and watched The
Addams Family almost every day. You would say every time
Lurch came on the screen that he was your favourite
character."
Lana, my now ex-best friend, added to her father's
statement "Oh my god. You are right."
I glared at her.
"Ella always said that Lurch was pretty cool because he
looked scary but was actually nice and that his silence was
pretty mysterious and sexy." She spoke to everyone.
My eyes widened and I quickly stuttered out a fib "I don’t
remember that. You both are just making this up."
The whole table looked amused. That included Stone who
had a small smile of satisfaction on his lip.
His husky deep voice danced along my earlobe as he lowly
said, "You better like me better."
"No. I do not." I deadpanned as I removed a piece of fallen
hair from my face.
There was no way of getting out of this. I could no longer
convince anyone, even myself, that I did not want Stone.
I could no longer deny that a part of me had always wanted
him since our very first encounter. A large part of me
wanted him.
I changed tactics and pointed to the other side of the
wooden table "Why are we not talking about how Lana's first
crush was Lightening McQueen? That is way worse than
mine."
Brennan cocked his head to Lana with a risen eyebrow
"Lightening McQueen? As in the car?"
She answered him with a blush covering her cheeks "I was
like five."
"That is cute." He replied, "I am just upset you did not give
me a nickname that secretly meant you had the hots for me
like Little Ella over there did with Stone."
When I saw that Mr and Mrs Armstrong were having a
conversation on their own and not tuning in to ours, I ripped
a bit of bread from my hamburger and threw it at Brennan.
Mrs Armstrong started to take us down memory lane as she
started to tell the two boys about us. That left me and Lana
embarrassed and wanting to run away from the table.
Lana then decided to join in "Do you remember that time in
middle school when I was changing for gym and the fire
alarm went off?"
I mouthed to her as I knew exactly what she was going to
say, "Shut up."
"What happened?" Brennan asked with a laugh.
"I could not find my jeans, so I had to leave the building in
only my underwear. I was so humiliated, and I was crying
hysterically." She explained while laughing back at the story
"So guess what Ella did?"
I pleaded "Please do not tell them. It was so embarrassing."
The blonde traitor continued with her story "Ella stripped off
her jeans and walked down the corridor in her underwear
with me so we could share the humiliation. She did not want
me to be alone,”
Everyone let out a laugh and I hid my face behind Charlie's
back.
"I knew then that Ella was going to be my best friend
forever." Lana added.
I smiled and told her honestly "I would do it again."
My words made Stone narrow his eyes at the side of my
head and deeply grumble "No. You will not."
Charlie started to fidget on my lap as faced away from his
food and asked "Drizzy, can you take me to the toilet?"
"I thought you could go yourself now." I whispered back,
hoping that he just meant that I had to walk him to the
toilet.
"It is a number two." He informed me while flapping two
little fingers in my face.
I let out a small sigh and fought the urge to start crying
"Why do you hate me? What have I ever done to you? Why
do you not ask your favourite cousin Lan Lan to do it."
He jumped off my lap and whined "I want you to do it,
Drizzy."
"Fine. Let’s get this over with." I groaned as I took his hand
and lead him inside to the bathroom.
After five minutes, I was starting to feel claustrophobic. The
Armstrong's downstairs bathroom was a converted closet
under the stairs and the space was not enough for two
people. Even two small people.
Charlie was not in a rush to finish the job at hand. He was
swinging his legs and singing while sitting on the toilet.
I was about to tell him to hurry up, but I got distracted by
the sounds of heavy footsteps out in the hall.
The voice was instantly recognisable. Deep and husky. An
undeniable authority to it.
Stone seemed to be on the phone with someone. He
answered and replied one-word answers as the other person
on the phone seemed in a hurry to explain something to
him.
I pressed my ear closer to the bathroom door, but I could
not hear that much. Just some deep grumbling and curses
from the giant.
A small voice called from the toilet "My mommy says it is
rude to eavesdrop."
"Well, my mom used to say that I should know how to wipe
my bottom by five years old but you do not see me
complaining or telling you off." I replied to him while sticking
my tongue out before I instructed "Concentrate on what you
are doing."
From the other side of the door, I heard the gravelly voice
curse "Fuck. Next Friday? We pushed it back to midnight."
Silence followed and I could only assume that Stone had
hung up.
Then more footsteps approached the hall, and I heard
Brennan ask, "Is everything alright?"
"That was Reed." Stone replied.
Brennan waited for a few seconds before asking "What did
he want?"
"They are on to us."
The words spoken by Stone was the last I heard as the
hallway went back to noiseless.
A horrible water noise filled the small space as Charlie sang
"I am finished."
I distracted myself by wondering what the two males were
talking about as I tackled the smelly situation.
My hands were thoroughly scrubbed with layers of soap
when I left the toilet of terror with Charlie. He ran off ahead
as I followed behind with my mind occupied with thoughts
about what Stone's conversation on the phone meant.
Lana laughed while asking Charlie who was now sitting on
her lap "Did you and Ella have fun?"
Sending her a glare, I made my way back to my seat. Mrs
Armstrong tapped my arm when I passed her seat. It was a
silent thank you for dealing with Charlie and saving her from
doing it.
Noticing that the little traitor had ditched and discarded me
for Lana's lap, I stuck my tongue out at him again. He stuck
his out back and giggled at my funny face.
Stone and Brennan were also back at the table, acting like
nothing had happened. Like there was not a serious phone
call about five minutes ago.
A large hand made its way onto my leg as soon as I sat
down. I looked down at the tattooed skull before I met the
obsidian eyes.
"You were not lying you when you said you love kids." Stone
chuckled.
"Not when I have to take them to the bathroom, I don't." I
joked before then answering seriously "I do love kids. They
are small non-judgemental humans with big imaginations
that have fun all day. What is there not to like?"
"So, you were also telling the truth when you said you
wanted a load of kids?"
"A small army of them." I confirmed before explaining
"Enough of them to help me steal all the books out of a
library in one go."
He let out a deep laugh and shook his head at me.
I joined in with his laugher even though I was serious.
Children had tiny arms and probably could not carry a lot of
books so I would have to pop out a good few.
"I have no idea why you are laughing." I jested "When I do
have kids then I will be dropping them off at their Uncle
Lurch's."
As soon as I said the words, a horrible feeling in the pit of
my stomach built up and I instantly regretted saying what I
did.
It hurt to think of him being something so insignificant in my
future life.
Stone's eyes darkened and one of his hands clenched. It
was a look of determination like a dictatorial leader ruling
with an iron fist. It was like he was about to proclaim
something that was determined and inevitable.
"I am not going to be their uncle, Medusa." He bit out.
"You are right." I agreed before trying to land a blow to his
ego "You are just not cool enough to step up and be the cool
uncle for my kids."
He growled lowly so only the two of us could hear "I can't
be."
I indulged him "Why not?"
"I am going to be their dad." He stated, his rough tone
pronouncing every syllable of his sentence.
My eyes grew in size. I could feel the shock of his statement
on my face. My brown irises were already larger than
normal, so I imagined them looking like two large chocolate
buttons as I gawked at him.
I laughed his remark off "I would not bet on it."
Stone grumbled determinedly "I would bet on it."
His hand remained on my thigh as I swivelled around in my
chair to face him. I decided to play along with him, so I tried
to muster up some confidence to argue against him.
"Okay." I spoke aloud "Lets bet on it because I can
guarantee I will never have your babies."
The reply he gave seemed random and completely
irrelevant as he uttered "Who slayed Medusa the gorgon in
myth?"
I tilted my head in confusion and answered, "I think it was
the hero called Perseus."
My AP class in Greek Mythology last year was finally of some
use to me.
"Perseus." He repeated with an arrogant smirk "That is the
bet. In the future, when we get married. Not if but when. You
must call our firstborn Perseus. The name of the hero that
destroyed Medusa. A reminder that you do not know
everything, and you were wrong about us."
"What do I get if I win?" I asked as I leaned in closer "Except
not carrying your devil spawns."
With a shake of his head, he replied with a dark chuckle "You
will not win."
"I will." I tried to seem confident, but my voice came out
slightly weak "What do I get?"
Stone met me in the middle of the space between our chairs
as the warm breath from his mouth tickled my lips "You can
call your firstborn whatever your heart desires."
What was funny was that I liked the name Perseus.
I could always start a tradition of unusual first names in my
future generation.
The giant had to be joking around. That or he had
completely lost his mind. I had always known Stone was
calculating and a little mad but to what extent I still had no
idea.
I had never backed down from a challenge from him before
so that is why I agreed "You are on."
On the opposite side of the table, the situation was
completely different. Lana and Brennan were eating in
silence and there was no sign of playful teasing. It was
enough to make myself inwardly cringe at the scene in front
of me.
Mrs Armstrong, picking up on the awkwardness starts a
conversation asked "It is Saturday tomorrow. Does anyone
have any plans?"
Lana finished eating and then answered her "I was planning
to go shopping for a dress for the Fall Ball."
The atmosphere changed drastically.
Brennan smiled at her sheepishly as he admitted "I need to
tell you something."
She frowned "What is it?"
"I can’t take you to the Fall Ball next Friday. Something has
come up." Brennan tried to let her down gently but failed
miserably as he blurted out the news.
"You promised, Brennan." She said to him with a glare
before she started her interrogation "What is so important
that you have to bail on our plans?"
He glanced at her parents uncomfortably before he turned
back to Lana and answered “I want to take you. I really do.
It is just—"
Lana cut him off as she bit out "Save it."
She looked so disheartened. She could not even look at her
boyfriend. The dance was important to her so whatever
Brennan had to do must have been important.
I knew it had to do with Stone's conversation on the phone. I
just did not know what.
"We both are going shopping tomorrow." I attempted to
cheer her up "It looks like I will need something to wear if I
am going to this stupid dance."
Her face lit up as she asked, "You are going to come with
me?"
I nodded and bit my cheek to stop myself from letting out a
groan at the thought.
Lana smiled gratefully before she said, "You will be a much
better date than Brennan anyway."
"Hey!" Brennan said, pretending to be insulted.
"No problem, Barbie." I replied to her before I said to the
ditcher "I’m sorry, Lover Boy. It is true. I am a much better
date. Plus, I am way sexier in a dress than you."
Stone watched me curiously, his dark eyes following my
every move.
I looked up at him "Can I help you?"
"What happened to the big rant about you hating school
dances?"
"My love for Lana is much stronger than my hatred for
school functions and I like to think of myself as a semi-
decent friend." I explained.
Lana clapped her hands at my statement, excitedly "This is
going to be so fun. Do I get to pick you a dress?"
I shook my head in horror "I don’t love you that much."
She pretended to act upset as she asked, "What is wrong
with my style?"
"Nothing." I told her "I just do not want something too
sparkly or too in your face."
Brennan tried to speak to Lana again but fails as she
continues to ignore him. Instead, she talks to her parents
and Charlie.
When everyone was busy, Stone spoke lowly against my ear
as his hand moved an inch higher on my lap "If I was not
busy then I would have taken you."
My heart hammered in my chest and my stomach felt like it
was floating. The goosebumps arose on my skin because of
the large hand.
I could not see him at a school dance. I could not even see
myself at a dance. However, I did see the two of us
watching films together and reading while I pretended to
hate his touch.
Spiked punch and dancing to overrated pop songs with
people who I was forced already to spend school hours with
was not my idea of a good time. My definition of a perfect
Friday night was in bed with a good book and maybe even a
large guest with me too.
"I will probably buy a black dress and you will not have
anything to wear to match." I joked because all he ever
wore was black.
After eating all the Armstrong's food, I decided to call it a
night. Lana and Brennan needed time to talk.
Well, that is what I told Stone so he would leave with me.
Although, there was not much arguing on his part as we
both said our goodbyes and left the house.
We were both making our way down the path from the front
door when Charlie came chasing after us.
"Drizzy!" Charlie shouted while he hugged my leg "Promise
you will come and see me soon."
I hugged him and promised him. That made him light up
with glee before he ran back to the front door.
Just as Charlie was about to close the door, he turned back
and shouted, "Bye Big Giant Man. Remember what I told
you."
Once Charlie had disappeared from sight, I raised a brow
wondering what the boy meant "What was that all about?"
"Nothing." Stone disclosed.
I shrugged it off and climbed into Stone's truck.
"Does your parents not wonder where you are?" I asked as I
put my belt on "I do not want Mrs Lewis to think that I am
stealing you away."
"Are you not?" He replied while smirking at me "Kelly works
night shift a lot at the hospital. She knows where I am
anyway."
"Did you tell her?"
He shook his head once with a small smile.
Taking a last look at the Armstrong house and thinking back
to Lana and Brennan's last conversation, I asked Stone "Do
you think they will be okay?"
"I don't know." He replied, obviously knowing who I was
talking about.
Tapping my fingers on the door of his truck, I tried to
swallow down my other questions.
That failed miserably because once he pulled out onto the
road, I ended up telling him "I heard you on the phone when
I was with Charlie in the bathroom."
He stole a quick look at me while turning off the street and
questioning in a slightly demanding tone "What did you
hear?"
"Not much." I truthfully answered, "But you sounded pissed
off."
"People say that I am always pissed off."
"I don't think that." I disagreed before I added "What I think
is that you don’t care what people think."
Stone kept his eyes on the road, but he smiled “No. I do not.
I only care about what you think."
My head rested on the leather seat of the car as I tilted my
head to see him better.
"Why?" I asked.
He glanced at me, and it was breath-taking how intense a
second long look from him could make me feel.
His husky voice rang out through the truck "You know why."
A grin wandered onto my face. I could not fight the feeling
of happiness overwhelming me. It was like we were in our
own little bubble of delirium, and I never wanted it to burst.
I never wanted it to end.
I could not help but think that the juxtaposition of us was
beautiful. The contrast of us was flawless. My green to his
black. His large figure to my short. The Medusa to his Lurch.
Him and I.
"Stone." I called softly before looking out to the window at
the ocean passing by "You know how you said that when
you were younger, you got angry. Do you still get mad,
now?"
His reply was short and not so sweet "Yes."
I reached for the hand that was resting on the stick shift and
intertwined it with mine "What makes you angry?"
"Everything and sometimes nothing at all." He said before
elaborating "At times I can lash out at the smallest of
things."
My voice was merely a whisper when I questioned "Have
you ever wanted to lash out at me?"
His head jolted to the side like he was double taking on what
I had said. His eyes widened like he could not believe that I
was even asking such a thing.
The confined space filled with silence as he swerved the car
off the road. His hands gripped the wheel as he pulled up at
a grass clearing that overlooked the beach.
The sun was dying and melting into the ocean below so that
the night could conquer the sky. It was like something from
a painting.
Stone switched off the engine and faced me with a bothered
expression.
"No. Fuck no." He spoke like my question was in an ancient
language and he did not understand the concept of what I
was trying to insinuate "Ella, I could never be angry at you."
"Even when I am being annoying?" I teased.
His shoulders became less tensed as he let out a strained
laugh "You are always annoying."
I faked a gasp before I pretended to glare at him.
He looked out at the blue waves and said the next sentence
to himself "Fuck. I can’t believe you thought that I would
hurt you. I could not. Not ever. I—"
A rush of adrenaline took over my body and I found myself
talking off my seatbelt and climbing over the console that
separated us. I lifted my leg over him, so I was straddling his
lap.
Nothing about his expression was smug or teasing when he
saw my need to be near him. He watched me intently as he
put a stray hair on my face behind my ear.
I almost let out a tiny whimper at the small gesture but then
I remembered his last sentence.
"I don’t think you would ever hurt me, Stone. I never
thought that once." I told him the truth before I explained "I
just want to know what sets you off. I want to know if there
are specific things that trigger your anger. Even if it is
something that I do."
He kept his head hung low as he listened to me.
I moved closer and cupped his rugged jaw so that he would
look at me. The bone ticked under my touch, and I had the
urge to kiss it.
"I just want to know everything about you." I admitted
quietly.
His eyes lightened to a soft black while his finger trailed my
cheek.
I thought that even though his eyes were void of colour they
were my favourite pair to gaze into because they were his.
I did not think that was ever going to change.
"Nothing you could do could anger me." He rasped out as he
left a soft kiss on my mouth "I am enamoured by everything
you do."
"Enamoured?" I repeated with a hint of smugness "Aren't
you a wordsmith?"
He growled playfully before bringing my face to his. The kiss
started slowly at first. It was slow and passionate, and it
said everything that I was too scared to say.
Then I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and
kissed him as my life depended on it. He brought me closer
and explored every single meaning in the kiss. He made me
feel as if I was flying yet I was grounded all at the same
time.
He kissed me like I was his only source of life.
I could kiss him forever. I could do it on loop and never get
sick of it. I could never get sick of him. I could never get
enough of him. I could write thousands of poems about one
millisecond of time with him.
I wished that I could split apart time and live in the moment
with him.
We broke apart for air. I let my head fall to his chest as he
wrapped an arm around my waist and kept me glued to his
well-built body.
Three things were heard in the air. Our unsteady heartbeats
and the waves crashing against the shore. Both were
merciless and wild.
The image of our first kiss swam into my thoughts. I
reminisced what he told me about what his mother used to
say about the ocean.
I had concluded that she was right. That strong emotion
being like the bottom of the sea. The feeling that overtook
your senses that could not be seen or touched. Only felt.
I felt Stone everywhere.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Six
"I gave you my book and you are not even reading it." I
accused while staring up at him.
We had been reading in the living room for an hour. Trying to
read anyway. I had read the same sentence about twenty
times.
My distraction was him studying my face while I laid across
his lap.
Both of us were sitting normally on the sofa for a matter of
minutes before he pulled me to him. My head fell onto his
lap, and I ended up staying there with my book held above
me.
Stone had my Edgar Allan Poe poem book, but I doubted he
had even read a word of it. His gaze was set firmly on me.
I pointed out "You are distracting me."
"No." His deep voice argued, "You are the one distracting
me."
Giving him a mock glare, I turned back to my book and tried
to concentrate.
That did not last long. My attention was drawn back to his
stupidly ravishing face. I could see myself staring at him in
the reflection of his eyes.
It was obscure how I find his harshly defined features
comforting. How I found his large well-built body a comfort.
My shaky hand reached up and I drew my finger along the
side of his sharp jawline. I stopped as soon as I spotted
Stone's lip caught in his teeth as he sent me a cocky look.
"Are you okay down there, Medusa?" He asked before
mentioning "You seem deep in thought."
"I am just trying to guess how tall you are." I replied quickly.
That was not what I was really thinking about while my head
was on his lap. However, I was genuinely interested to know
what his height was.
"Six foot seven." He answered.
"Six foot seven?" I repeated in shock.
He nodded his head in confirmation. His expression was not
teasing. It was completely serious.
I exaggerated "Six foot seven? I am almost certain that is
the height of Mount Everest."
Stone chuckled and diverted his stare to my small legs in
my pyjama shorts that barely reached the end of the sofa
"How small are you?" He asked curiously while his lip
twitched upwards.
I glared at him for asking how small I was instead of how
tall.
"I am five foot two." I answered while I crossed my arms
tightly over my chest.
"Yeah, with heels on." He commented while he let out a
husky laugh.
Nudging him in the stomach and feeling up his abs while I
was there, I said a height a little closer to the truth "Fine.
Five foot one then."
He shook his head as an evil smile etched onto his face. He
did not believe me.
I could not help but ask him "Does it bother you, Lurch?"
"Does what bother me?" He asked while confusion filled his
tone.
"My tinniness."
"I love your height." He affirmed while frowning at me.
"Really?"
He cleared his throat before adding "I can keep you in my
pocket."
I burst out laughing and stuck my tongue out at him as I
wiggled my toes that were enveloped in my fluffy socks.
"I do not like being this small." I admitted.
"Why not?"
"Well for starters," I told him "Every time I want to kiss you
then I have to climb you like a tree."
Stone laughed. It was loud and husky. So deep that the
vibration pulsated through my body below him.
He seemed happy at my reply though because he replied
with a smirk "So you admit you want to kiss me a lot?"
"I guess kissing you is not the worst way to spend my time."
I admitted with a heated face while I kept my attention
firmly on his stomach.
My face still felt all hot, so I picked up my book again and
hid my face between the pages.
Another hoarse laugh was heard before Stone pulled my
book back so he could see my face. I glared up at his
amused facial expression.
"How much do you weigh?" I could not help but ask the
questions that I had been dying to know.
"Nearly three hundred pounds." He answered gruffly with a
shrug of his shoulder "Last time I checked."
He was nearly three times the size of me.
My eyes widened and I felt my mouth make an o-shape.
We found ourselves in an intense staring contest as he
caressed the side of my face.
I was fully captivated by his mesmerising darkened eyes.
He broke the silence by motioning to the book and asking
me "Why do you not write a book?"
"I was hoping to in the future." I answered and then
elaborated "Sometimes an idea comes to mind, and I write it
down, but I never feel it is good enough. I read my ideas and
I grimace at the thought of people reading it or actually
wanting to read something I have written."
The gravelly voice spoke, "I would read it."
I tilted my head to study him because he looked like he
genuinely meant it.
"Thank you." I said quietly to him.
"Only if I get it dedicated to me." He added tauntingly after
my gratitude.
I rolled my eyes as I sat up from him and asked, "What time
is it anyway?"
"Eleven." He answered back after checking his phone.
"I have to get dressed! I’m meeting Lana in half an hour!" I
squealed as I jumped off the sofa in a hurry.
The edge of Stone's lip dropped unhappily as he grumbled
"Where are you going?"
"Dress shopping." I informed him before I mentioned "I need
to get one because Brennan bailed on her for The Fall Ball"
He sat quietly and then a dawn of realisation contorted his
face. He stood up to his full height and towered over me.
"I need to go out today anyway." Stone spoke.
"Oh, where?" I retorted, disappointed that he would not be
there when I got back.
"Work." He stated after a long pause.
"Tell Mike that I am asking for him."
Stone met my eye with a serious look "It was probably a
good thing you are not home because I would probably end
up not going."
Grinning, I turned around to start walking away as I asked
"What kind of influence would that make me? Surely you
can go a day without seeing me."
His hands were instantly on my hips. He snatched me back
to his body and kept me there as he declared "No. I cannot."
Then I was off the ground and floating in the air with his
hands still moulded to my side.
When I reached a height that meant that I was at eye level
with him then I voiced what I was thinking "Can I ask why
I’m levitating?"
With unconcealed smugness, He chuckled "So you do not
need to climb me like a tree."
A giggle erupted from me, and I buried my face into the
crook of his neck as he lifted me nearer.
Once I had gotten control of my laughter, I then peered out
from my hiding spot and teased "Who said that I wanted to
kiss you now?"
He kissed my lips lightly. Only once. It was just a gentle
brush, but it was enough to make me surrender to him.
I pulled back and silently pleaded for more as I held on
tightly to him so that I did not go plummeting to the ground.
My heart pounded in my chest as his gentle fingers lifted my
chin so he could devour me. He bent from his neck so there
was no space between us. My hands gripped his hair as he
cradled my waist.
"I have to go, Lurch." I told him as I tried to pull away from
him.
"No." He growled playfully but he walked to the hallway with
me in his arms.
Our lips crashed against one another's again, so he
redirected his direction and changed course from the
bedroom to the kitchen.
Without breaking apart, he continued to brush his tongue
over my own and my bottom lip as he set me down on the
kitchen counter.
Stone moved to stand between my legs, and I had to part
my thighs as far apart as they could go to accommodate his
huge build. His lips were gentle against mine as he savoured
every touch and stroke of my tongue.
He moved away a little to look me in the eye. I almost forgot
how to breathe as the obsidian eyes swirled with emotion.
His mouth took mine again in a long tantalising kiss. Heat
filled my body slowly. Inch by inch as he took over my
senses. His hands dropped from my face to my back and
then it dropped to my butt as he lifted me again.
"Damn, Baby." He let out gruffly as I smiled into his lips.
"You definitely have a thing for kitchen counters, Valentine
Stone." I mused with a giggle.
He pressed a soft yet harsh kiss against my lips before
grumbling something under his breathing.
The muscular arms clutched me tightly as the giant walked
with my body in his arms. He took long determined steps
before stopping right beside the dining table.
Stone was a mountain of man. He was so big and thick that
it looked like we could have sex standing up. He could just
pluck me up with his big strong arms and slide me down his
dick.
My lip caught between my teeth and Stone watched the
movement hungrily.
I peered up at him and raised a brow while he set me onto
the surface of the dining table "What are you doing?"
"I have a thing for you." He promised, his rough voice
growing even deeper "I want you everywhere."
The big hands carefully set me down on the edge of dining
table. His eyes fell onto my shorts and there was a dark glint
of mischief in his eye.
His veiny meaty hands palmed my thigh and nudged for me
to open my legs wider.
Everything happened in a demanding haste. My shorts
became a ball of ripped jean material at the other side of
the dining room.
The dark pair of eyes surveyed me silently as his hands
flexed at his sides.
"What is it?" I uttered to him quietly.
"Your size." He answered softly "You are so small, and I
never want to hurt you."
I leant back and opened my legs further while I shot him a
taunting smile "You can't hurt me with your tongue."
One of his dark eyebrows raised as he challenged gruffly
"No? It is wider than the small piece of heaven between
your legs."
I felt my face grow heated as I gave him a small pout of
disappointment.
My exposed back went cold against the glass of the table
suddenly. My eyes that were once looking into Stone's were
now peering wide up at the ceiling.
The calloused fingers tangled in my thong in a haste to get
no barriers between us. He did not take them off, however.
He only pulled the material to the side.
Little gasps and whimpers left me as the giant looming over
my body snared the moment. He began to leave kisses on
the valley of my breasts before moving down to my stomach
and then lower.
His hands roamed determinedly and desperately, gripping
skin and stopping me from moving too much.
I liked him manhandling my body. I liked him as the
commanding presence in the room.
Warmth was felt again my bare skin between my legs. A
gush of air was felt against the sensitive skin as Stone
teased and nipped at it.
"Stone." I gasped pleadingly "Stone."
The dominating mouth of the man kissed harshly up my
inner thigh as the rough finger remained hooking my
panties to the side.
"Want them off." He rumbled, pulling at the material and
lifting my hips up "Now."
The muscular forearm came down and treaded on my hips.
He pinned me to the table, kneeled down and brought his
face closer to my thighs.
"Look at you." Stone uttered hoarsely, his warmth breath
tickling the wetness between my legs "So fucking perfect."
My blush covered my whole body. That or it was just the
heat of a thousand suns travelling across my skin.
I felt his tongue steadily touch the valley of my sex. It was
slow and sensual and completely euphoric.
The huge monster of a man groaned like he had never
tasted anything so good in all of his existence.
If he stopped then I would die.
His tongue licked again. This time over my pulsing clit. The
movement over the bundle of nerves had me shivering and
whimpering.
The man feasting upon me groaned at the taste again. He
then growled and lost every single hint of self-control he still
had because he began devouring me.
He pushed his tongue in deep and traced my opening. He
then dragged his greedy tongue up to my aching clit.
It was too much. It was the sexiest moment of my life.
The strong arm on my waist snaked underneath me and
lifted me higher and closer to his mouth. It was like he was
trying to get more of me inside his mouth.
The sounds he was making while his tongue slid in and out
of me were ferocious. He was licking my centre and then my
sweet spot that had appeared just for him.
Valentine Stone ate like it was his last meal on earth. He ate
like a starved man. He ate like a predatory animal
consuming its prey.
His shoulders were a beautiful testament to masculinity, and
they flexed while his moments grew more desperate. His
dark hair was buried between my thighs as he never came
up for air.
All I could do was gasp for air and sob as my all the muscles
in my body contracted.
My thighs shook uncontrollably. Stars began to cover my
vision that reminded me of a certain pair of obsidian eyes.
Everything in the world faded away. Everything was
insignificant apart from him and I. All that mattered was the
intense pleasure that was building in the bottom of my
stomach.
The man in control of my body then chose to take one hand
of my hip and pressed it against where he had his tongue.
With one thick finger, he applied firm pressure to my g-spot
and rotated it to the side.
I could not hold back the piercing scream from leaving my
mouth as my eyes fluttered shut.
My whole world exploded around me as I called out his
name. My body shook. I tried ground myself, but I could not.
My back arched as he continued feasting on me.
I screamed his name and grabbed a fistful of his hair as he
swirled his tongue around my clit and made me come again.
I thought I had travelled to a far-away planet full of fairies
and back.
He was a sex-God. That or he had magic fingers and a
magic tongue.
Stone picked my body up bridal style and began to clean me
up. He rubbed between my thighs with a cloth while
pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"You are beautiful when you let go." He praised, never
taking his eye away from me.
I sent him a shy smile before I looked down at the ground.
His hand went under my chin, and he made me look up at
him before he stated gruffly "I want the taste of you on my
tongue three times a day."
I could not hold back my laughter as I repeated "Three times
a day?"
"Three times a day." He repeated before growling
"Minimum."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Seven
After a long make-out session that I had to pull myself away
from, I quickly drove to the Armstrong's house and
apologised to a not very patient Lana.
She eventually forgave me after thirty minutes in the car
and when we pulled up at the mall. She became talkative as
she started to pull me into every store to browse all of the
clothes.
Lana waved a pink sparkly dress in my face as we entered
our tenth dress store "This would look so good on you."
"Yeah, for a kids fancy dress party." I replied.
"Ella, work with me here." She complained, "You have said
no to every dress I have picked up."
"That is because you have terrible taste."
"No, I don't! You are just a harsh critic." She argued while
putting the dress back on the rack.
Our conversations had been a recurring pattern since we
had arrived at the mall. The same exchange of arguing had
happened in the past five stores.
Lana had flapped over fifty horrendous dresses in front of
my face. I had to hold myself back fifty times from
strangling her with the garment.
Even if the shopping experience was the worst thing
humanly possible, I loved spending time with my best
friend.
"Why do you hate shopping so much?" Lana asked as we
walked down another long aisle of clothes.
"I do not hate shopping." I said before adding "I just hate
shopping with you."
"You need to pick something. I have at least ten dresses that
I want to try on." She waved her occupied hands that were
filled with extravagant dresses in a variety of colour.
Having had enough of her awful choices, I shooed her away
"Just you go and start trying them on. I will keep looking and
then meet you in the changing rooms."
She left with a sigh and headed over to the dressing room at
the back of the store.
This left me to check out the rest of the choices in peace. I
explored every inch of the boutique, going from aisle to
aisle, passing all different colours and shapes of clothes
until I spotted a black dress.
It was quite short with spaghetti thin straps. I picked it up
and examined the silk material that shined under the light.
It did not look like something that should be worn to a
school dance. The dress was slightly longer and a little more
acceptable than a nightdress.
It had caught my eyes and I loved it so without much more
thought, I wandered through to the changing rooms with it.
"Lana." I called her name as I walked down the line of small,
separated rooms.
She drew the curtain back from her little changing space
with a pained face. I looked down to the cause of her
expression and understood.
The dress she had on made her look ridiculous. It was light
pink, and the short skirt part of the dress was frilly like a
tutu.
"You look like a marshmallow." I commented.
She glared at me before drawing back the curtain and
disappearing without a word.
Hoping the dress that I picked out would look good enough, I
made my way into the changing room next to hers and
undressed. Once my clothes were spread all over the place
messily, I pulled the silky material over my head and pulled
down until it stopped mid-thigh.
I turned around and faced the mirror on the wall. I let out a
small gasp and how well fitted it was. The dress hugged my
body tightly and highlighted every curve. It left nothing to
the imagination.
Just as I was weighing up the pros and cons, like the
shortness of the dress, I heard footsteps from the other side
of the curtain.
"Get out here." Lana called "I want to see what you picked."
I slowly pulled the curtain to the side which revealed Lana
standing there as her jaw dropped.
She looked me up and down before hollering "You look
beautiful, Ella. That dress really shows off your assets."
My eyes rolled as she wiggled her eyebrows.
"What do you think about my dress?" She asked as she
motioned her towards her new change of clothes.
Looking at her choice of dress, I tried to be as honest as I
could be "It is very...orange"
"That is what I was thinking." She said with a huff before
retreating into her changing room and shouting "Wait there.
I think this is the one."
Standing there in the middle of the room, I felt overdressed
and like an idiot, but I could not help but look down and
compliment myself.
I wondered if Stone would like the dress.
A few minutes later, Lana walked out twirling with a red
sparkly cocktail dress on. It suited her well and I could tell
by her smile that she liked it too.
"You look gorgeous." I gushed.
She giggled and then joked "We are going to be the envy of
Leavendale High."
"You will be." I told her "Nobody will see me because I plan
to hide in the corner of the room. Far away from the dance
floor all night."
"No, you will not." She scolded before looking at me again
"You look amazing, Freak Show. Really, your choice of dress
is stunning. I think there may be hope for you in a fashion-
based career."
I scoffed "No way. I would never go into fashion. Everyone
should just wear pyjamas all the time. As a society, we
should encourage it."
She laughed "Yeah, I see it now. Drizella Miller on a Milan
runway with her Princess and the Frog pyjama set."
"What is wrong with my Princess and The Frog pyjamas?" I
asked before carelessly arguing without thought "Stone likes
them."
The last part of my sentence caught her attention and she
questioned " How has Stone seen what you wear to bed?"
Trying not to look guilty, I waved her off and shrugged "It is
nothing."
She pointed at me while looking far too excited "Have you
slept with him?"
"If you mean in the same bed as him then yes."
"How many times?" Lana interrogated me enthusiastically
"Also why did you not tell me?"
There was not any point in lying to her further, so I admitted
"He has stayed overnight pretty much all week."
"Again, why did you not tell me?" She shouted, "Have you
two kissed?"
I told her the half-truth "I might have tripped and
accidentally let my mouth collide with his."
Lana laughed and grinned at the news. 
I tried to lie to her "It does not mean what you think it
means."
"What do I think?"
"That him and I are together." I answered her.
"Are you trying to tell me you are not?"
"Yes." I let out sadly.
It was only then that it hit me that I was disappointed at the
fact that I was not with him.
She laughed again and it was full-on belly laughing. She
clutched her stomach trying to control herself.
Once she gained composure, she sympathetically said "Poor
Stone."
"What do you mean Poor Stone?" I accused "You are meant
to be on my side for anything and everything."
"Not when you are being a fool. Ella,” She told me "I feel like
hitting your head until you see sense."
I put my arms over my chest as we both kept quiet. There
was nothing I could argue back because the truth was that I
knew she was right.
Lana shook her head and pointed out "We both are a mess
when it comes to boys."
"What is going on with you and Brennan?" I questioned
gently, knowing that something was going on and the issue
was sensitive.
She leaned against the wall between our two changing
rooms and sighed "Brennan told me he loved me."
"You do not love him back." I stated rather than asked.
Her head shook and her eyes closed as she let out a sigh "I
don't know."
"What did you reply when he said it?" I asked and then joked
to try and make light of the situation "Thank you?"
Lana went silent and her face contorted to guilt. It was a
dead giveaway that she did in fact thank him.
"You did not!" I said in shock, imaging the scene in my head.
"I panicked!"
I made another joke because I had no idea what to say "To
think people say I am the heartless one."
"Ella!"
"I am just kidding. You know that." I said before I tried to
make her feel better "I think it is better that you did not lie
and lead him on. At least you did not tell him you loved him
when you did not. At least you are being honest."
"Unlike some of us." She replied as she began jogging on
the spot.
A normal Lana action was to jog on the spot when she was
anxious.
She resulted to saying, "I am going to search it up."
"Search up what?" I questioned as she ran and fetched her
phone.
Lana came back with her phone in hand. She stood still for a
full minute before she tapped her phone while replying "I
am searching up what love is."
"Calm down, Barbie. It is not a big deal." I sighed and tried
to hold back a laugh "Some people our age can’t even spell
love. I am being serious. One of Chase's friends spells it like
l-u-v. Like the texting way."
She ignored my attempt at a joke and read from her phone
"A website describes love as an extreme feeling of affection
and attachment. You do not just want them, but you need
them with you. You respect them but want to challenge
them in every way. You care and seek to know everything
about them. With every decision you make, you wonder
what they would think. You want to know what they are
thinking about all the time. You can’t see your future without
them in it. The symptoms and signs that you are in love
include feelings in the chest and stomach, a desire to touch
the person and—"
It all sounded too familiar. Far too familiar. It was so
recognisable what she was describing that I continued her
explanation.
"— and you want them so much that it scares you. You want
them around all the time. You want them in your English
class at school and you want them with you for ice cream at
the pier. You even want them in your bed to discuss books
all into the night." I finished.
She nodded her head and encouraged me to go on.
"It is teasing each other and hiding your amusement so they
do not think that you love everything they are saying. It is
appreciating that they know you. Know you so well that they
take you to an Edgar Allan Poe because you love the poems,
or they sit with you at your mother’s grave because they
know you need someone there and not just anyone but
them. It is knowing them so well that you know what their
favourite childhood book was or how many tattoos they
have got. It is the desperate need to know the newest one
they have. They take you on the Ferris wheel and help you
swim in the ocean because they want you to conquer your
fear and you can’t help but fall for them and their desire to
help you overcome your worries. It is the feeling that takes
over your body when they say your nickname that is only
designed for you. It is the bitten down laughter you get
when they make fun of you. Mostly about your hair and
height. It is everything about him. It is him."
Once I had finished my revealing rant and I was panting for
breath over my stumbled words, I looked down at the floor
and let out a gasp.
Lana smiled joyfully "I cannot relate to anything you just
said."
"But I can." I whispered.
This feeling was not foreign. It was just being discovered. It
was just being brought to light.
It was like an emerald. Back in Ancient Egypt, Greek miners
discovered the green gemstone and thought they had found
something spectacular and rare. It was found and given a
name in two thousand BC but the emerald had always been
there. It had always been encrusted in the Earth since the
beginning of time. It had just been waiting to be brought to
the surface.
"I am in love with him." I said aloud but more to myself in
realisation "I am in love with Stone."
Lana smiled and then she let out another giggle "Honestly,
it took you far too long to figure it out. That is why I done it."
"Done what?"
She turned around her phone to reveal a black screen. Her
phone had run out of charge and that meant she had not
searched up what love was.
"I did not need to put it into the internet for the definition."
She uttered "You were already aware of what love was. You
just needed a little push."
"How did you even come up with the first bit?" I asked,
shocked at her flawless definition.
"I just recited what you have told me." She explained "All of
those things that I said were what you have told me about
Stone at some point since meeting him."
I was lost for words.
The only thing I could do was laugh it off to hide my raw
terror at my revelation "To think people say that I am the
conniving and scheming one."
She made her way over to me and grabbed my shoulder
"Now you know. What are you going to do about it?"
"Run away. Leave the country." I answered her "I have heard
Antarctica is nice this time of year."
"Be serious." She told me off.
"Okay fine. That is a bit drastic." I admitted before changing
my plans "I just need to isolate myself. Just stop speaking to
him until it goes away."
"Ella!"
My panicked state had not disappeared and I scowled at
Lana "Why did you not tell me that I was in love with him?"
"Everyone knows. I think you are the last person to realise
that you are crazy about him." She informed me "It is not
just going to go away, and I know you do not want to stop
feeling for him."
I hated how she could tell what I was feeling better than
myself.
"What am I going to do? I cannot just tell him." I ranted
"What would I say? That I am so madly in love with him, and
I probably have been since I met him, but I was too scared
to let myself feel."
That the thought of potentially losing someone else I loved
just like I had with my parents scared the hell out of me.
"Why not tell him that?" She asked.
"I can’t say that." I argued, "It would give him enough
material to tease me forever."
Lana went all gooey-eyed and dreamy "Also madly in love?
You have become such a romantic in your old age."
"Shut up!"
She smiled wickedly "Nothing has actually changed. It has
always been you two. You are just realising it. For someone
as intelligent as you are, you sure are slow."
"Working out people has never really been my thing." I
replied, trying to defend my ignorance.
Her smile turned warm, and her eyes held a bit of sadness
as she spoke “I don't think it is that. I think it is your self-
esteem. For some reason, I think you think you are
unloveable. I don't know if it has to do with your mom or if it
is something else, but you need to know that you are
amazing."
I kept quiet. I could not think of an excuse.
"All my life, you have built me up and kept my chin high.
Now it is my turn to repay the favour." Lana smiled at me as
she continued her speech "You are beautiful and smart and
so funny. Stone knows that. You need to have some
confidence. You need to tell him."
I could feel my lip start to tremble. That is why I shook my
head and let out a small giggle "This is far too mushy. All
this feelings and stuff."
"You need to tell him." She repeated.
"What if he does not feel the same way?" I asked quietly.
Her arms crossed and she looked slightly annoyed "You are
just trying to find an excuse to back away. It is not in your
nature to just sit back and watch everything unfold. What
happened to my best friend that threw popcorn at the TV
screen when the main heroine would sit back and wait for
her love interest to come and get her?"
My hands went to tug down my dress because I started to
feel exposed.
"You once told me that you despised Cinderella for sitting
around and waiting for her prince." Lana added.
She was right.
I was not Cinderella, I was Drizella. Just like Stone had told
me.
The words repeated in my head like a never-ending poem. I
loved him.
All this time, I was not really challenging him. I was
challenging myself not to fall for him and that failed
miserably.
It was inevitable.
To others, he was intimidating and rude. To me, he was
caring and selfless. He had a great sense of humour and
never failed to make me laugh. He was smart and as big of
a nerd as I was. He was the best guy I had ever met and
probably always would be.
Only he alone could set my soul on my fire. He annoyed me
like nobody else in the best possible way. He was the only
one that could linger on my mind all day and all night.
I could compare it to falling off The Golden Gate Bridge. I
was holding on so tightly to stop myself from descending,
but it was inescapable. I was going to fall anyway. It was
destined. Just because I convinced myself that I was not
falling did not change the outcome.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Store after store, minutes slipped away until morning
became afternoon then night. Lana and I really did shop
until we dropped. The dropping part just happened to be at
the food court where we spent a good amount of time
refuelling ourselves after a stressful day of dress shopping.
My mind however was somewhere else. I could not even
fully enjoy my pizza because I was too busy thinking about
how my next encounter with Stone would go.
That train of thought still ran around in my head as I made
my way up the stairs in my apartment building.
The hallway was brightly lit due to the darkness outside. I
was counting the lightbulbs on the ceiling as I walked
upwards, trying to reassure myself that he would not be
there because he had a full day of work. I told myself that
he would be back at his house.
Even the possibility of facing him made me want to flee. I
wanted to run away from trying to explain what I felt to him.
There was no word to describe how I felt. None that had a
name anyway. None that were strong enough.
Love did not even compare to what I felt for him. It was so
much more.
Sometimes I thought too much. I lived in my head and
weighed up each decision I had ever made.
A good example of that was when I was six years old.
Christmas rolled around and I found myself doubting the
existence of Santa Claus. I recollected sitting under the
Christmas tree and comparing the width of my chimney to
the depiction of the jolly fat man in red. I also compared the
number of houses around the world to the hours from night
to morning.
Due to all my overanalysing, I missed a childhood of
believing in magic. A few years later was when I started
writing down small theories on farfetched things in an
attempt to retrieve that magic again.
Overthinking had the potential to steal away small miracles
in our life.
That is why I decided that the next time I saw Stone, I would
tell him how I felt. Then run away for the hills.
Just as I had calmed myself down, my breathing hitched
once again as I went to unlock my front door. It was already
open and that meant only one thing.
I had forgotten about my dad. As ludicrous as it sounded to
say, it was true. I had forgotten that he was absent, and he
was who knows where and doing God knows what. For the
past week, I never thought once about how much he
despised me.
I had been too busy with Stone. He seemed to make the bad
thoughts melt away just by being there.
With caution and an expectation to see empty drink bottles
on the floor and a familiar stranger in the room, I pushed
open the door.
Two steps into the room and I was taken aback. Instead of
smashed bottles in the living room, there was a pile of
books crowding the space. Mostly books anyway. There were
a few other objects there. Most of the things I recognised
were from under my bed.
On the arm of the sofa, Pete the Second sat. I frowned in
confusion at the stuffed panda that Stone had won for me.
The nicely laid out mess was not the work of my father. The
objects were organised neatly and with purpose. Not by a
drunk.
The only question was why.
With questions unanswered, I dropped my bag with the
black silk dress that I bought earlier on the pile of books.
"Stone?" I called while walking into the dark corridor leading
to my bedroom.
My bedroom door was closed but I could see the light was
on from the slightly ajar wood.
Every step was more difficult. It was quite a frightful thing
walking into the unknown. Further and further. Curiouser
and curiouser.
Not waiting any longer, for the second time tonight, I
pushed my door open not knowing what I would find.
I would never have guessed it. My hand instantly flew to my
mouth as I let out a loud gasp.
My bed was misplaced. Instead of being right next to the
wall, it was centred alone in the middle of the room.
However, that was not the first thing my eyes fell upon on.
All four walls of my bedroom that were once a plain and
dreary white were now vibrant with colour.
Not just any colour.
Green.
I thought that four walls of the same bright colour would be
overpowering but it was not. It was impeccable. For a cold
colour and one usually associated with nature, the walls
made warmth spread through me.
Even with the green surrounding, that still was not what my
eyes landed on first. What I was drawn to first was him.
The man that I loved had a paintbrush in hand and a
splatter of the colour on his black t-shirt as he finished
painting a small spot near the skirting of the wall.
Stone stood as soon as he saw me standing there. Yet he did
not move an inch. He stilled and just watched me. Waiting
for a reaction.
I could not give him one. A thousand words of gratitude
wanted to escape from me, yet I remained frozen.
He had listened about how much I hated my room and he
had remembered weeks later. He had gone out of his way to
paint my bedroom for me and not just any colour but my
colour.
I would drive myself crazy thinking about him going out of
his way to find the right shade.
I did not know I was crying until Stone took long determined
steps across the room to coddle my face in his large hands.
He gently wiped my tears away.
Stone broke the silence as he quietly told me in his deep
voice "Please don't cry. If you do not like it, then I can paint
it back."
"No—No." I rushed out while taking small breaths "I love it. I
love it so much."
I loved him so much.
This was one of the times that my crying was tears of joy. I
was so overjoyed that I thought that I might have burst with
happiness.
Even the crying that happened after watching the notebook
was nothing compared to this. Lana was right. I had become
a hopeless romantic over the past few weeks.
"I can’t believe you did this for me." I said, still in shock.
His face filled with so much raw emotion that I was taken
aback at how tenacious yet vulnerable he looked.
"I tried to find the exact colour. I searched everywhere for
the shade, but it was nowhere to be found." He spoke while
motioning to the green around us "This is the closest they
had to your colour."
I whispered, "It is fairytale green."
"Yes." He confirmed while staring deep into my eyes, but it
felt like he was looking a lot deeper "It is fairytale green."
"This is the best thing I have ever been given. I cannot tell
you how much this means to me. I cannot begin to thank
you." I expressed with a shaky voice.
He wiped another tear of mine away with his thumb as he
gave me a small smile "It is not entirely selfless. I do plan on
spending all my time here with you."
"You hate the colour." I accused "That is why you tease me
about my hair."
Stone cocked his head "Fairytale green is the best fucking
colour. If I could paint the whole world, it then I would."
In the next blink of an eye, I had leapt into his arms. One
reason was to embrace him and fill the gap between us. The
other was to hide my face in his chest so he could not see
my expression which I had no doubt had the truth written all
over it.
If he looked me in the eye, then he would know every single
emotion that I was feeling.
He pulled back so he could see me, and his voice was full of
concern "What is wrong, Medusa?"
"How do you know something is wrong, Lurch?"
His breath warmed my head as he talked down to me while I
kept my gaze strictly away from his.
"You look terrified." He spoke hoarsely.
"I am." I replied
He gently touched under my chin and forced me to look up
at him. I did and I tried to mask my expression but there
was no use. As soon as he saw my face, he nodded like he
understood.
I was caught in his eyes as he continued to study me.
"I push people away." I said aloud "That is what I do."
"Fuck no. There will be no pushing away." He affirmed "You
push me away and I will bring you right back. I will grab you
and pin you to the wall. We do this together."
"Demanding ass." I called him with a small shaky laugh
before I mentioned "The wall is wet with paint so please do
not do that."
Stone chuckled and I felt it pierce through me. Right through
my heart. It was enough to make the organ skip a beat.
"I have always wanted to know why you always call me a
nickname and not actually my name." I tried to change the
subject and avoid the topic "Why did you start it?"
Fair enough that I was the one to start on the pier by calling
him Lurch but after that he kept it going with Medusa. It was
strange to think of a time when he was not one of the most
important things in my life. If not the most.
He removed a fallen piece of hair from my face that was
acting as a shield. There was nowhere to hide anymore.
"The nicknames were something to say until I could call you
mine. That is what it means." He told me "Every time I said
and will say Medusa, I am telling you that you are my girl.
My everything."
The air had suddenly removed from the room. My chest was
thumping loud, and my eyes became even wetter.
His words gave me a rush of bravery because I wrapped my
arms around him and leaned on my toes.
I confessed "I did not know it then but every time that I
called you Lurch or some other name. I was really just trying
to tell you that I am yours."
He rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip and then my top
with a hand that begun to shake. I could feel him tense. I
suspected that he was losing control and his restraint to
hold back.
"It was my way of telling you that I wanted you." I professed
with full certainty "Because I really do. I want you."
Stone leaned down and smashed his lips against mine. He
claimed my mouth with so much passion that my mind
blanked in response. He ran a hand through my hair and
deepened the kiss. Enough to take the last remaining
oxygen out of my lungs and enough to make my hesitation
disappear.
I was palming his shirt so tightly that it started to rise, and I
could see a hint of ink. I started to feel dizzy at the hotness
of his mouth as I removed his shirt. He bent down to allow
me to get the fabric over his head.
Once I got it off, I reached up and ran my finger over his
erratically beating heart while still not breaking the kiss. The
dance of our tongues tasted of an endless number of
confessions.
Speaking of confessions, I had forgotten something. With all
my might, I pulled away and spared him a smile before
walking around him so I could get an eyeful of the
mysterious tattoo that he refused to tell me about on his
back.
What I saw had me covering my mouth once again.
My intake of air was so loud it filled the room, but Stone did
not turn around.
Instead, he stayed still and let me examine the tattoo of the
gorgon.
The head of Medusa was in the centre of his upper back and
the twenty-ish snakes stretched nearly to the edge of his
shoulders. There was no chance of missing the tattoo. It
covered the whole of his upper back and was inked boldly
with dark prominent lines.
I reached out and stroked the closed eyes of the gorgon
making sure it was real. That everything was real.
The question was rhetorical. I could feel the answer in the
air and in the way he was watching me over his shoulder,
but I wanted to hear the words from his lips.
"Why did you get medusa tattooed on your back?" I asked
because I needed him to confirm the reason and hear it
from him.
He turned around. His lips were up in a small smile as he
wrapped one of his bulky arms around my waist and pulled
me to him.
I closed my eyes at the contact and waited for his reply.
"Because it is forever a reminder of the girl I am in love
with." He rasped out.
"What?" I managed to voice to make sure it was not a wild
and wonderful dream.
"I am inexorably in love with you, Ella."
He said it with such ease like it should not have come as a
surprise to me. There was no beating around the bush. He
said it such surety that it seemed that his feelings were
irrevocable.
I pointed towards myself, still in shock "Me?"
"Yes. You." He chuckled "Drizella Miller. The mean green
machine, you."
"You do know that tattoos are permanent. That means you
cannot get rid of them." I blurted out.
His grip on my waist tightened as he let out in his rough
voice "I am well aware. Now when people see my back, they
will know who I belong to."
"When?"
"When what?" He replied.
"When did you catch feelings for me?"
His head shook "I am not telling you that."
I frowned "Why not?"
"You came in here and looked like you wanted to flee." He
answered, "I am not scaring you away by telling you how
fast I fell, and it would scare you to know how fast I did."
At his words, I crumbled. If my poker face had even slightly
remained a second before, it had gone now. I wanted to
shout a million names and insults at him for making me feel
this way, but I also wanted to smash my lips on his. There
was nothing else to do but surrender.
"You are insane." I pointed out with adoration present in my
tone as I got a sudden urge of confidence "I love you."
His pupils dilated and for a moment I thought I could see
stars in them. They were endless dark matter filled with so
many different emotions swirling around. Some I could
interpret. His eyes contained delight, warmth, hunger, and
most prominently love.
He bent down and lifted me up so that I was bridal style
against his chest. I wrapped my arms around the back of his
neck as he pulled me closer than close.
"Say it again." He growled.
"I love you."
His tone went deep in demand "Again."
"I love you."
He rested his forehead on mine as his voice became hoarser
"Again."
"I love you." I raised my voice in assurance "I love you so
much that our story is my favourite story."
"You are my favourite everything, Medusa." He told me.
Then a buzzing noise from his phone went off. The pocket of
his jeans lit up and showed that someone was trying to call
him.
l caught a quick glimpse of the time displayed. It just after
nine o'clock. I could not be sure though because Stone
hurled the phone across the room, and it hit the wall before
he attacked my lips once again.
He eventually let me down. He placed me on the floor so
that my back was towards him. He peppered my neck with
kisses and bit on the skin as I threw my head back to give
him better access.
"You are mine." He gnarled.
My right arm reached out and I grabbed the back of his
head as I asked, "Are you mine?"
His large hand cupped my chin and turned my head to the
side so I could see him.
He answered in his gravelly voice "I always have been."
A jolt of what felt like electricity sent a shiver down my
spine at his touch.
"Valentine?" I quietly let out.
A kiss was left at the side of my mouth in reply.
I turned around and faced him as I uttered "I need you."
"I need you too, Drizella."
I repeated my words to make them explicit "I need you."
"I need you." He rasped out as a growl escaped his throat.
He needed me and I needed him. We needed each other.
Desperately.
A ripping noise was heard.
Rest in peace my slipknot shirt. It would be severely missed.
It was a good thing I had three more of the same kind.
I was too caught up in him to care that he was demolishing
a fraction of my wardrobe as he continued to greedily take
off my clothes.
My ripped clothes fell to the floor like a discarded mess. He
was in a haste as he undressed me but then he slowed
down. He seemed to be savouring the moment.
He kissed me again as I was left with only my underwear
covering my body. Then that was gone too.
Stone pulled back to see me.
I had never felt so seen. Being bare to him brought a blush
to my cheeks and I crossed my arms over and started to rub
at my skin.
"Do not do that." He tried to soften his rough voice as he
spoke "Let me see you."
My self-consciousness faded away as soon as I saw his
expression. He was looking at me like nobody ever had
before. Like I was his most prized possession.
The black orbs darkened with desire.
"You are so perfect." His voice sounded thicker as his gaze
flicked all over me "You are the most tempting entity to walk
this earth. You are the snake in the garden of Eden. You are
also the apple."
I bit my lip and giggled "I think you are only with me
because I smell like apples. I know how much you love
them."
"I only love apples because they smell like you. Because
they taste like you. They remind me of you." He said against
my earlobe.
He leaned down and cupped the back of my legs to scoop
me up in his arms. I was carried to the bed in the middle of
the room.
Two steps later and he laid me on the mattress. Next thing I
knew he had climbed on top of me. His starvation was
completely undisguised as he went back to showing my
mouth attention.
My fingers found the back of his shoulders. Right where his
medusa tattoo was. I found myself gripping the skin as he
moved his lips to my neck.
His lips trailed over my jaw and my throat until he reached
my collarbone. He sucked on the skin as I allowed my eyes
to roll to the back of my head at the pleasurable torture. I
panted desperately for air as he did so.
A soft moan escaped my mouth and that made him go rigid
against me. The ardour became feral as a growl ripped from
his chest.
When I heard the small deep groan from his chest and felt
the absence of the hot air on my neck, I opened my eyes
and found him staring at me as softly as I had ever seen
him.
Stone gripped the bedsheets beside me as met my gaze
and asked tenderly "Are you sure you want this?"
I bit my tongue to hold back a laugh because I felt like
teasing him as I questioned "What if I wanted you to wait
forever?"
He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips as he left
a gentle kiss there "Then I would wait forever for you."
It was not too fast. It had always been in the making. There
had been such a build-up of emotions since had I met him
that surely the release was going to be explosive.
"I want you." I assured him as I smiled up at his
devastatingly attractive face "I have never been so sure of
anything in my life. I am more sure of us than any of my
theories."
Satisfied with my answer, he clutched my thigh and lowered
his head to the tattoo on my thigh. Then he kissed it. He left
soft kisses all over the ink, curling along the shape of the
dragon’s tail.
Once he had covered every inch of the intricate details of
the tattoo, he moved on to my stomach then higher to the
valley of my breasts then my neck then my chin and finally
he reached my lips.
The movements were slow and passionate. I was expecting
passion but what surprised me was the pace.
His large hands roamed every inch of me. Every curve and
crevice. Every imperfection.
He worshipped it all.
Stone still looked like a drowning man coming up for air. He
appeared to be desperate, yet he took his time learning and
touching every surface cell of my skin.
It was like he could not believe his luck that this is
happening. That we were happening.
His lips moved against mine with a blazing passion that
knocked the air out of me. The only thing I needed in the
world was him. He kept me in his arms as every part of us
pressed together in the most intimate of ways.
The way he touched me was so gently yet so raw and
vehemently. A deep desire bound us together and wrapped
us in one bundle of need.
His tongue darted out and trailed over my lip. It had me
tightening my grip on his wide shoulders as I let out
whimper after whimper. He then moved my hands, so they
were swallowed by his large ones as he intertwined our
fingers. He then pinned my arms above my head with one of
his hands as the other continued to roam the rest of my
body
I yearned to touch him and for him to touch me. I craved
him so badly. I could not handle the heat that built up inside
of me
Stone's touch and gaze were like shackles. They kept me
entrapped in a gentle prison full of love. I was imprisoned in
the best way possible.
"Mine. Mine. Mine." He said over and over again as his
tongue flicked over my skin.
Great, I thought to myself, he had gone all caveman.
The pleasure was so out of the world that I was having
trouble thinking. I could not see straight. I struggled to
remember my own name; I could only sigh his.
My eyes were mostly closed at the feeling but when they
were not, I caught a few glances of him. All of him. The sight
was enough to make my knees feel weak.
I thought that I was going to faint. Even when I was lying
down.
Stone smiled. His mouth went up fully. It was true and it was
devastating.
"I am so in love with you." He spoke in his gravelly tone
"Holy fuck."
I grinned at him, and he traced the outline of my smile with
his thumb.
"I have imagined infinite things I want to do to your
beautiful little body." He admitted as his voice went deeper.
My body instantly grew hotter. If he was not careful then I
was going to combust under his touch.
I brought his huge, calloused hand so it was laying on top of
my racing heart.
"My heart feels like it is going to explode." I stated, "I think
you have stolen the air out of my lungs."
If I went into cardiac arrest, then mouth to mouth would
certainly not help. Not with his punishing kisses.
"It is retribution." He replied, his voice uneven, his fingers
running lines over my chest "That is exactly what I feel..."
A kiss later and he added, "When I hear your voice."
Another Kiss.
"When your laugh fills my ears."
Two Kisses.
"When you tease me." He continued to list.
Three Kisses.
"When you smile."
A trail of kisses along my jaw and he added as he sucked on
the skin "When you are in the room."
"You seemed like you knew what I was thinking as soon I
walked in the door." I peered up at him and tilted my head
"Was it written all over my face?"
"Yes." He answered with a chuckle "That and I am an Ella-
expert."
"Just because I love you does not mean that you are not the
most irritating person on the planet." I spoke as I threw my
head back against the mattress as he continued to cause
the ecstasy feeling on my body "That will never change."
He leaned into my ear and bit the lobe. He then whispered
sweet nothings against my skin which caused a ripple effect
of goosebumps from my neck to the rest of my body.
"You are infuriating as well, Medusa." He spoke "I really
thought I was going to have to spell it out for you. It was so
painfully obvious that I loved you. Everyone knew I was
crazy for you. Except from you."
"Sorry." I said in embarrassment and then felt the need to
add "I have been pretty slow. Are you sure you love me?"
"Undeniably." He affirmed, his dark tone taking over to make
it known that his word was a law "If you left me waiting any
longer then I think I would have gone mad. I would have
waited nonetheless."
I became aware of the green walls surround us. The four
surfaces cornered us and shone green across us. 
The colour was the second-best thing in the room.
His gaze was so soft as he uttered "I do not want to hurt
you, Ella."
"I will be okay." I tried to keep my voice strong while I kissed
his jaw, and I tried not to glance down at the monster
looking up at me.
When a new thought made its way into my head, I
announced it in the form of a moan "I have a theory."
Stone hummed in response waiting for my explanation. He
moved back slightly so he could see me. It was like he had
to hear what I had to say and that he might have died if he
did not.
"My theory is that red is not the colour of love. It can't be." I
stated before telling him "Not when fairytale green exists."
"That is not a theory. That is the truth." He told me as he
moved towards me once again.
I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his neck while
wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer on top
of me.
He pulled back enough to peer at my breasts. His breathing
became ragged as he took in the sight of me naked. He
swallowed and the large bulge at my thigh twitched.
The huge, calloused hands captured my hips in a tight grip
as he leaned down and caught one of my nipples between
his lips. He sucked the flesh until they were sore.
I moaned and arched my back off the mattress. I rubbed my
body against the hard thick shaft against my leg.
Deep rough curses left his mouth lowly while he peppered
kisses all over my collarbone and breasts.
I was going to combust. I was going to die.
Temptation and desire ran through my veins and my fingers
reached out to tug at his boxers.
He groaned and thrust his hips up between my legs. The
broadness of his erection was peeking out from beneath the
elastic of his underwear.
Moans and groans filled the room as I tugged at the material
keeping him from me.
My hands shook as I pulled down his briefs and allowed his
erection to break free against his stomach.
I felt my eyes widen as I took in the humongous size of him.
I almost screamed bloody murder.
There was no way of describing the unapologetic length and
breadth of him. Veins wrapped around his broadness and his
sack was heavy. He was as long and as thick as my forearm,
maybe even bigger. The thick black hair at the base of him
seemed miles away from the tip.
He was all man.
I certainly did not mean what I said at the diner that day we
visited the grave. I could not handle it.
One of his fingers was enough to fill me. Never mind his
large monster that lived in his trousers.
I wanted to cry.
A small yelp left my mouth which I could not contain.
Concern filled his expression instantly and he immediately
tried to pull away from me while reassuring me that we did
not have to do anything I did not want to.
I put on a brave face and pulled his large body back towards
mine with all my strength.
"Ella." He growled, trying not to flatten me with his broad
chest "We don't need to do anything. This was not what
tonight was about."
Nothing could stop us. I wanted him so badly and I felt how
badly he wanted me.
"I need you now." I panted "Please."
He gently grabbed my hips and yanked me closer so that he
could position his hard sex over the seeping hole waiting for
him.
A moan left me as he settled his hard shaft on my clit. He
then slowly dragged the head down, parting the swollen
bare lips between my legs.
I shuddered in anticipation as he gently pressed the thick
head of his cock against my opening.
Stone peered down at where both our pelvis nearly met. His
eyes widened and he let out a curse as he noticed the
bareness of both of us.
"Fuck, baby." He grumbled in realisation "I don't have
anything."
I looked down and then back up at him "I am on the pill, and
I trust that you are..."
He nodded his head, and it appeared like he wanted to add
something else to the nod.
His eyes turned into a galaxy full of stars.
My core felt like it was on fire. A fire that could only be
ignited by one man.
"I want you more than I have ever wanted anything." He
rasped out "You are all I have ever wanted."
"I want you too." I moaned "Please."
"I would do anything for you." He promised, leaving another
gentlest kiss on my forehead.
I mewled and mewled as his hands squeezed and beautifully
ruined every part of my skin.
His tongue dominated my tastebuds as he bucked his hips
to mine. His largeness nudged my opening and demanded
more room. I opened my legs to accommodate him.
The shaft slid up and down the smooth lips of my sex
without breaking the entrance.
"Valentine." I released breathily "I need you now."
Tears pricked my eye as he notched the first few inches of
his member into my wet heat. Everything went numb and
All I could feel was him.
There went my sanity and my ability to move.
A tear fell from my eye when I noticed that he was hardly
even a quarter in.
To the scientist wondering if a cucumber could fit into a polo
mint, then the answer was a maybe. It was just painful.
Stone noticed my tears and his eyes went wide with panic.
He instantly went to pull out, but I stopped him by wrapping
my legs around his back and keeping him inside of me.
His eyes fluttered for a second, but his expression remained
strict as he barked "Ella."
"I just need a minute." I whispered, reaching up and cupping
his stubbled jaw with my small hands "Can—Can you kiss
me?"
"Always." He uttered lowly.
The devouring kisses were slow and passionate. Each brush
of the tongue was filled with love and lust and everything in
between.
"Just do it." I moaned, finally adjusted to the mere few
inches "I want to feel all of you."
The giant's attention never faltered away from my face as
he slowly edged himself into me. Inch after inch after inch,
he made his way inside of me as far as he could.
"I am so sorry." He uttered lowly, continuing to pepper
kisses on my face.
Pleasure and pain filled my whole body and I screamed. I
had never felt so full or so connected to someone. I had
never felt anything like it.
Stone cupped my face and his thumbs wiped away the tears
as I adjusted to his utterly huge size.
"Hey, Lurch " I whispered up to him, a smile pulling at my
lips.
He smiled back, his black irises dilated with lust and
pleasure "Hey Medusa."
"What is your favourite colour?" I asked to change the
subject.
"Green." He released hoarsely from his throat "Fairytale
Green."
I continued talking "You are far too big for me."
A few kisses later, he shut his eyes and released gutturally
"You are far too perfect for me."
I pouted up at him.
"Stop looking at me like that." He groaned out, the black of
his eyes growing and darkening.
"Why?" I asked, pouting even more.
"Because this will be over before it begins." He growled, his
voice close to breaking.
Valentine Stone looked like he was on the brink of sanity. He
appeared on the edge of control. Lust was about to overtake
him and if he was not careful then he was going to lose all
semblance of control.
A few minutes later, I kissed his jaw and whispered, "You
can move."
He rocked against me slowly. He was so gigantic that he
managed to fill me to the brim and hit the bundle of
pleasure nerves at the same time.
I grabbed his large hand and placed it on part of my
stomach "You are in here."
"Baby." He murmured, his voice rumbling through my body.
Never mind my stomach, Stone's cock was inside my brain.
Figuratively and probably literary. He was turning all my
thoughts to mush.
The slow pace was perfect and wonderfully euphoric, yet I
could tell he was trying to control himself for me.
His forearms were strained, the veins running up them were
popping out. His jaw was gritted as he continued to keep a
soft easy pace. He was trying so hard to be sweet and
gentle with me but I could tell his restraint was limited.
I swallowed back a moan so that I could reach out and cup
his rugged jaw.
He swallowed hard as he looked down at me with his dark
irises and dilated pupils.
"Don't hold back." I sobbed "I want you rough."
"Ella." He released hoarsely, his control slowly disappearing.
Fire raced over my skin. A tickle formed between my thighs.
His cock was reaching a sensitive and undiscovered place
inside of me while also stimulating the small bundle of
nerves.
"I know you want to fuck me harder than this, Valentine." I
whispered up to him.
The control in him snapped. It was gone.
He grabbed my waist, his curled fingers digging into my soft
flesh as he yanked me into him. I reached up and grabbed
onto his shoulders as he did so.
I braced myself as he pulled my hips up, about to hit even
deeper. I was ready for it. My control had disappeared too.
I wanted it raw and rough. I wanted him unrestrained and
untamed. I wanted every part of him that he felt he had to
hold back from me.
"You want to get fucked by your man?" He growled.
I let out a small whine as I nodded my head. I glanced at his
flexed broad chest before meeting his eye.
The time for holding back was over because Stone thrusted
into me quickly and harshly. He held my hips possessively
while he dove into me again and again and again.
"Oh." I moaned as he thrusted his big cock deeper while
raising my hips higher.
He pulled back out and then slammed back in. Again, and
again. His pace was ruthless.
"Fuck baby." The man inside me grunted "You are so fucking
tight."
I screamed each time he entered me. The pain was replaced
with pleasure and the tears became full of ecstasy.
"You are griping me so tight." He rasped out, never once
stopping his wonderfully brutal thrusts "Like you never want
me to leave."
"I don't." I whimpered through my cries of pleasure.
He went savage. He went like a wild animal when he fucked.
He growled and groaned and told me how much I was his as
he did so. He claimed me like a wild beast while delving into
me again and again in a rapid pace.
With his inhumane black eyes of lust and his large, tattooed
build, he looked like a mountain man with only one goal and
that was to be inside me for the rest of his life.
His mouth moved from my ear to my neck to my throat. He
sucked every inch of skin that arrived in his path while his
hard pelvis smaller into my aching clit with every powerful
thrust.
I was so close. I moved my hands off his arms and gripped
onto the bedsheets at the side of my head.
Stone pounded his cock into me, his pelvis slammed into my
clit and my whole body erupted.
I screamed his name as the unrelenting squeezing inside of
me bursts and I let myself go all over him. I was swallowed
in the sensation.
I was drowning in the pleasure and Stone never stopped
once.
My eyes watered. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He slowed his pace while he left a gentle kiss on my mouth
"Are you okay, Medusa?"
I nodded, my eyes remaining closed "Never better."
His stubbled tickled my skin as he moved his mouth to my
ear so that he could whisper "Am I hurting your little
pussy?"
"I love it." I gasped the words out "Don't stop."
My words encourage him to continue.
I was dazed with euphoria as he sped up and continued his
relentless pace. He drove his thick length into me while I
was most sensitive and made ecstasy shoot through my
body. My toes curled and my hands tightened around the
sheets.
Stone kept his mouth at my ear as he rasped out happily
"You like my cock."
"Yes!"
I felt my walls trying to trap him inside me. I felt myself grip
him tight.
"I have been keeping it for you." He exhaled his words out
strenuously as he pressed his forehead against mine for a
second or two "It is all yours."
I smiled up at him because I was too dazed in pleasure to
make out what he was saying.
"My Little Medusa is so needy." He grumbled while
continuing to worship my body with his hands while he
slammed into me faster "Only needy for me."
I whined in agreement while shutting my eyes and gripping
the sheets at either side of me harder.
"Keep your eyes on me." He growled out, nudging into my
channel viciously.
Instantly, I opened my eyes and kept my gaze centred on
him while I moved my hands and held onto him.
I feared I would go through the wall at how fast he was
fucking me. The bed was not going to be able to handle his
strength. The bed did not just creak. It screamed beneath us
and threatened to break.
Stone leant down and kept his mouth at my ear. He
whispered the most primal and most territorial things to me
while he roughened and quickened his pace.
He was a beast of a man, and he was all mine.
I fell in love with all of him in that moment. I loved him when
he was gentle and sweet. I loved him when he was wild and
crude.
Our eyes locked. I could see the hunger in his eyes, and he
could see the need in mine. His hands roamed to my ass as
he lifted me up and angled himself deeper into me.
He hit the spot repeatedly as he pounded brutally into me.
I loved him barbaric. I loved him in control and when he did
not hold back.
My whimpers told him to keep going at that angle. To keep
delivering at the same pace and the same ferocity.
He groaned a masculine noise as he poked at the nought
that was about to be pulled for the both of us.
"I love you." I moaned.
His face buried into my neck, and he told me gruffly "I love
you more than fucking anything."
My mouth formed an o-shape. I palmed his chest as I let go
again. I could no longer hold it. My flesh vibrated and
rippled around him. I writhed underneath him as my vision
went unclear. He became a blur of stars and colours.
"Stone. Stone. Stone."
Hearing his name from my lips turned on something in him.
He went more animalistic and never spoke a word as he
growled while throttling into me. It was like touching me
flipped some primal switch inside of him and he went more
commanding.
With a hoarse roar, his thickness invaded all available space
within me.
Him drilling at such a pace into my snug channel was
enough to have it convulsing with need.
Orgasm after orgasm rippled through me. I had lost count as
he continued his sweet attack on my body.
Sweat covered the both of us in beads as we continued in
our own little bubble of pleasure.
I did not think I would ever get used to the savagery of his
thrusts.
The bottom of his spine twisted, and he bucked into me for
a final time. It was so powerful that I levitated in the air for a
split second.
"Fuck." He ground out, the sound of wet slaps echoing in the
tiny room. "You are mine."
He spoke even more like a caveman when he was turned on.
I dug my nails into his back while I whined for more. I
scratched his back in an attempt to grab onto something as
I wiggled underneath him.
"That make you hot, baby?" He grunted, rattling the
headboard behind us "Knowing that I own you. That you
belong to me."
I screamed so loud that the whole of California must have
heard it.
Nothing would be the same again. Not when I had reached
nirvana. Not when I felt like I had learned the secret of the
universe.
Stone found his high and slammed against me for the final
time. He collapsed onto of me but made sure not to squish
me. He began to kiss my neck and suck the skin between
his teeth. He acted like he was not even tired.
I panted and panted, unable to breathe "I think you have
ruined me."
None of my limbs were working. My bones were numb, and
my spirit was away in the clouds.
"You have ruined me." The gravelly rough voice argued
"How am I meant to do anything when all I can think about
is your sexy little body?"
I could not move. I watched my chest move up and down as
I blew a strand of green hair away that had stuck to my
face.
His rough calloused hands cupped my face as he stroked his
thumbs across my cheek.
"You are going to fall asleep with my dick inside you like
this." He rasped out while leaving kisses across my face
"You are going to wake up to my cock sliding in and out of
you. You are not even going to be able to eat without me
trying to rip your panties off and bury my face between your
thighs. You are going to tell me all your crazy theories while
I hold you in my arms. You are going to gift me that big,
beautiful smile of yours after every time I have pleasured
you."
I could not feel anything apart from my flustered face, my
huge grin and the tingles that were returning between my
legs.
"I am going to fuck you every second of every day." He
released throatily as he pressed his lips against my hair.
A giggle left me as I teased "I have created a monster."
"You have no idea, Medusa."
Stone rolled off me but instantly picked me up and placed
me on his chest. I rested the side of my head against his
racing heart so that I could hear his as well as mine.
He trailed kisses along my jaw and ran his hand though my
green hair as he smiled down at me.
"Lurch?" I quietly spoke.
His hum in response was deep and throaty.
"Can we do that again?" I asked while sending him a faux
innocent look.
I was already not going to be able to walk the next day.
Might as well go big or go home.
A chuckle vibrated off his chest and into me.
Once again, he was inside me and I was reaching for orgasm
two hundred. At this point, I did not think the number was
an exaggeration.
My fingers went through his hair as entered me again and I
moaned out suggestively "Is the green walls dry yet?"
Stone pulled back and smirked lazily at me "There is nobody
like you, Drizella Miller."
I smiled at him. It was full of lust and love.
"You are never leaving this fucking bed again." He gnarled
before picking me up, both of us still connected.
The night passed with the two of us in a bubble of euphoria
with our legs and arms and everything else intertwined
together.
Nothing else mattered.
The love echoed through the walls.
That one French phrase came to mind and this time it was in
the right context. Yet even the idea of a little death seemed
too weak to describe what we shared as the dark hours
turned to light.
It was us and it was perfect.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Thirty-Nine
A million memories from the previous last night flooded
back as the rising sun peeked through the curtains. I woke
up with a smile and the inability to move.
If it was not for the feeling of Stone's large arm resting on
my stomach, then I would have thought it was a dream. It
was out of this world. Earth shattering. I had never felt so
seen nor so loved before.
Because I still believed it was a beautiful dream, I lifted the
bedsheets and glanced underneath.
It was real and nothing could be better. Nothing. Out of this
world was an understatement to describe what he made me
feel. I could not articulate how amazing it felt waking up in
his arms.
My bare body was firmly held by the pair of hands as I woke
up on top of him. My chest rested against his and my feet
were bundled between his knees.
Stone was awake when I looked up from my position on his
torso. He was smiling down at me as he ran a hand through
my hair.
"Morning Lurch." I spoke.
The sexy husky morning voice replied, "Morning Medusa."
I turned so I was fully lying on my front on him. I probably
flashed him for a second in the process, but I wanted to see
him better.
The sun that bounced off the green walls illuminated his
sharp defined features and his god-like form. The sight
looked like something that should be capture led and hung
in an art museum. It was the best thing to wake up to.
We could not stop smiling at each other. We were still giddy
and glowing from the night before.
He kissed my forehead as he asked, "How are you feeling,
baby?"
"Like I have been impaled." I said in a humorous tone even
though I was being deadly serious "Never mind Vlad. It
should be Valentine the Impaler."
Stone grew frantic. He pulled up the covers and started
scanning my body to make sure that I was fine.
"Relax. I am okay." I giggled as I pressed down on his chest
He let out a sigh of relief as he rested back on his pillow and
tightened his grip on my hips.
"But seriously though," I began to say as I stuck my head
under the covers which muffled the next part of my
sentence "I think that while you were surfing your
reproductive part got replaced with the kraken."
The giant moved his muscled arm to cover his face as he
laughed. He laughed and laughed. It was for a good minute
that I felt the tough vibrations underneath me.
I wished that I was exaggerating.
If the Knights of Camelot ever came looking for Excalibur,
then I would point them in the direction of the giant who
had it in his pants.
I swatted his chest "That is a reasonable explanation. It is
the only that explains how it is so gigan—"
His hand cupped my face as he kissed me.
He pulled back with a small smile "You are wild."
"I don’t understand why you are laughing." I pointed a finger
at him "It will be your fault when you have to carry me
everywhere for a month."
Stone smirked.
My face moved into his chest as I spoke after my relaxation
"You would like that, wouldn't you?"
"Immensely." He grumbled into my hair as he left a kiss
there.
He pulled back while removing some hair from my face. It
must look like a bird's nest. I could not count the number of
times he had combed through it with his fingers during the
night.
"What are you thinking, Medusa?" His tone teasing yet
inquisitive.
My eyes closed because I was still sleepy, but my large
smile was still intact as I replied to him "I am thinking that
you have ruined me for all men."
A growl emerged from him.
I opened my eyes in time to see him manoeuvre myself and
him so that he was on top of me. His face was serious as he
wound his arms around me tighter, caging me in.
"It is funny that you think I would let you go and meet other
guys. Let alone let you leave this bed." He gnarled, his
words a dark promise "I have no intention of letting you go."
I considered standing up to defy him but there would be no
point. He knew as well as I that I did not want to leave our
little sanctuary. He knew that nobody else could compare to
him.
Stone was it for me.
My head fell back onto his chest as he went back to
cuddling with me on the mattress. I snuggled into him as I
became completely content with the fact that I solely
belonged to him.
"That actually sounds kind of perfect." I admitted before
saying "We could be the Boo Radleys of Santa Monica."
He seemed to have lightened up as his chest moved in a
chuckle "I like your To Kill A Mockingbird reference."
I let out a yawn as I started to trace his tattoos "Thanks,
Lurch."
"You are fucking hot when you nerd out on me with that big
brain of yours" He rasped out.
"You must be invariably tempted by me then." I replied with
a laugh.
A nod then three words from the gravelly voice "That is
true."
With a lone finger, I reached out and traced the lines of the
tattoo on the right side of his torso. Then my hand wanders
up and stroked the tattoo on his hand that was touching my
shoulder. I ran my hand over the fine details of the skull
covering his knuckles.
Once I was satisfied that I had touched every inch of ink on
his body, I went higher and explored his mouth. The side of
his lip was curled in a smile as I touched it. I had never seen
him so happy, and I was revelling in it.
The scariest thing about him was how badly his smile made
my stomach flutter.
"You know what I just noticed?" He asked, his tone sounding
amused.
"What?"
He teased "You said Stone more times last night than the
past few weeks."
His innuendo made me pull back and made me try and give
him my best death glare. It failed because he just chuckled
at me.
All that time spent with the intimidating giant, and I had still
not perfected a better glare.
"If you get evicted from this place for noise complaints then
you can always come and live at mine." He taunted.
The blush on my face darkened.
I took a few deep breaths and resisted the urge to suffocate
him with a pillow.
He really knew how to push my buttons like no other.
"You are not exactly innocent either." I calmly pointed out,
referencing his growling and gnarling.
Stone left a kiss on my shoulder before he uttered "I am
going to have to buy us a house in the middle of nowhere."
"Why would you need to do that?"
His kisses trailed to my neck as he grumbled "I do not want
anyone else to hear you."
I rolled my eyes and bit down my laugh.
Valentine Stone was a little possessive and a little bit of a
smartass. It was a good thing that I loved him.
"Medusa." He said before asking "Are you trying to shove
me out of the bed?"
"No." I lied as I tried my very hardest to get him to fall off
the mattress.
Nodding, he sent me a smirk "Good because it just feels like
you are ticking me."
"We can’t all be immovable skyscrapers." I countered back
as I gave up my attempt to push the big boulder off my bed.
He tilted his head, and it seemed like something had
crossed his mind.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I left a kiss where I was resting
which was on his stomach.
"Of course, I am, Medusa. I have never been better." He
answered before he told me what was on his mind "You
were surprised that I loved you."
I faced him and I told him the truth "I did not think it was
possible for someone to love me."
Stone scowled as he held my face once again his hand "Why
would you think that?"
"I guess it stemmed from my parents." I voiced "My mom
left, and my dad did too."
"Ella, that was not your fault." He let out roughly and it left
no room for argument.
"Thank you." I said to him as I went back to resting my face
on his freakishly comfortable rock-hard abs.
"That kid Charlie picked up on it faster than you." He
chuckled.
"He did?" I asked sheepishly.
The giant nodded and it almost appeared like he was
embarrassed because he did not look down at me while
talking.
"I asked him how to win you over. He said that you loved
green, and I should give you something that colour." His
deep voice informed me "I already had the paint bought
before then, but I was waiting for a time when you were out
of the house to do it."
I smiled into his chest "I can’t believe you got romance
advice from a five-year-old. I am never going to let you live
that down."
His fingers caressed my face as he let out a husky laugh "I
know you will not, but I was pretty desperate at that point."
The gleeful and once teasing expression from my face
dropped at the need for him to know the truth "I thought
that you saw me as some sort of challenge, and you were
trying to rattle me. I thought you were trying to throw me
off guard by making me fall helplessly for you and then you
would laugh in my face."
He wrapped his arms around me tightly while he stated "I do
challenge you. I will always challenge you. Just as you do
me."
I smiled up at him and he smiled back.
Then Stone grumbled "Make no mistake. I am keeping you
forever."
"Good." I said "Keep challenging me. I am still going to aim
to beat you at everything. I hope you know that. English test
scores, bickering, nerd offs. All of it, I am going to win."
"We will see about that." He rasped as he moved closer.
My body reacted in anticipation, but I remembered my
current state. My very naked state. He was moving closer,
and I just wanted to hide under the bed.
I lifted the covers and hid my whole self under there.
A deep chuckle came from outside the bedsheets "Don't get
shy on me now, Drizella."
I popped my head out before I pulled the whole sheets away
with a laugh.
"I was right. You must be some sort of other creature." He
said in a wondrous tone as he scanned my body "Nothing
could ever compare. You are otherworldly beautiful."
Weirdly enough as he gazed down at me, I felt beautiful.
My hands went to his back as I pulled him down in me as I
voiced "You are not so bad yourself."
"Is that so?" He smirked.
I teased against his mouth "A lot better with the lights off."
"My little liar." Stone hoarsely let out as he gripped my hips
and moved on top of me.
The bedsheets rose with him on top and I saw everything of
him once again. It was only further evidence that I was the
biggest liar on the planet. The hugest.
He slanted his mouth and his lips descended over mine. At
the warmth of his tongue enmeshing with mine, my eyes
closed. A husky groan came from his chest as I twined my
arms around his neck.
Just like the previous night, it was a good thing that the bed
was beneath me as I was sure my legs would have given
way. I doubted they were working properly. I do not think
any part of me was working properly.
We were so familiar with one another, yet every kiss was
filled with exhilaration and eagerness for each other like it
was the very first time.
"I love you." I whimpered into his mouth between a break
that allowed me to catch my breath.
Stone replied instantaneously like his words had been
bottled up and he was desperate to let them out "I love you.
So, fucking much that I think it would terrify others to know
what I would do to make you happy."
"You do not need to do anything. You make me happy." I
assured him gently while staring into his eyes.
A few minutes passed with the two of us in the same
position before I kissed his jaw again.
"You could make me a hot chocolate to make me extra
happy." I said as I left a quick peck on his mouth.
He let out a laugh before he looked past where I lay and
apologised "I am sorry about your bed."
I shrugged, glancing at the mess behind me and the general
mess of the room "Headboards are overrated."
Stone grinned at my remark and in response started to kiss
my collarbone. He pulled back and let out a low groan "You
taste heavenly."
"It is my apple scented body wash." I revealed and that
reminded me that I had to force myself out of bed and away
from him "Speaking of body wash, I need a shower."
I untangled myself from him with much unwillingness on his
part. Sitting up on the bed, I notice that all my clothes and
his were scattered on the other side of my room. Some of
them had made their way into the hall.
My clothes had been ripped to shreds so I grabbed the
nearest material of his and slipped it on.
The giant's t-shirt was far too big on me. It was more like a
dress as it reached my knees.
He watched my hobbled movements with desire and a look
of longing as I crossed the room and grabbed a new pair of
panties from my chest of drawers.
There was an incessant throb between my legs that
reminded me exactly how huge Stone was everywhere.
I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms as he
sat up on the bed and stretched. The movement made his
muscles stick out even more and his veins bulge out.
Stone met my eyes with a question present in his eye. I was
starting to think that I was a Stone-expert because I knew
what he was asking.
"Come along then." I said and tried my hardest to keep my
voice void of over excitement.
Standing up ever so slowly, he mentioned in a thick voice
"Saving water is good for the planet."
"What a saint, you are." I uttered while biting my lip to stop
myself from smiling.
"There is nothing saint-like about what I am about to do to
you." Stone affirmed, his deep voice a warning.
Then in two steps, he had caught up to me and he had
thrown me over his shoulder. I was shouting and laughing
while everything was upside down as he carried me to the
bathroom.
I poked his back as I told him "You are still making me hot
chocolate after our shower."
"If I do then will I officially be out of the acquenemy zone?"
He asked from above.
"Add whipped cream and I will definitely think about it." I
replied like there was ever such a thing as an acquenemy
zone.
He took long strides of determination before he opened the
door to the bathroom.
"Are you not hungry?" I asked as I felt my stomach start to
grumble.
"Starving." He assured me.
"Well then should we not head to the kitchen?" I asked in a
taunting tone.
"I want apples." Stone spoke, his gravelly voice deepening
as he slammed the door behind us.
My bare feet turned cold as he set me down once, we
entered the bathroom.
The bright light of the room was blinding. I squinted my
eyes slightly as I ignored the hungry gaze that came from
the man pressed behind me.
I let my head fall back so that I could look up at him when I
complained with a pout "I need a shower."
He leaned down and kissed my mouth once before
grumbling "I need you."
I needed him too, but I was a little apprehensive in this
lighting. The times he touched me before was always in a
darker setting with a dimmer light.
The fluorescence of the bathroom would hide nothing away
from him.
Swivelling around on my heel, I wrapped my arms around
the huge body as far as I could manage and stuck my face
into his stomach to hide my blushed face.
"Medusa." The deep voice uttered against my hair "What is
wrong?"
"I am shy." I mumbled, his hard chest muffling my reply.
His large palms ventured up and cupped my face. He gently
tilted my head upwards so that I was looking at him and no
longer hiding.
"You are perfect." He delivered as if it was a commandment
rather than a compliment.
I rolled my eyes, but I felt the side of my lip turn up.
"You are a little goddess." He gruffly expressed while
rubbing his thumbs over my cheek freckles "Now I am going
to worship you."
The veiny hands let go of my face slowly before grabbing
the material of his shirt that was covering my body. I lifted
my arms up and allowed him to throw away the shirt.
He leaned down and gave both my nipples a quick peck.
The buds hardened instantly at the brief contact and my
breasts suddenly felt heavy on my chest.
My legs already felt like jelly. The two limbs grew suddenly
weaker when he left a soft kiss on my nose.
Stone fell to his knees in front of me.
The huge height of him and the smallness of me meant that
kneeling down, he was almost at eye-level with my face.
His tight grip went to my hips as he pulled me forward and
closer to him. He hooked his thumb into the top of my
panties.
I stilled and waited but he did not remove them. Not yet
anyway.
I peered down at where he kneeled and watched as he
pressed his forehead to my stomach. Silently, I weaved my
fingers through his black hair and held him close.
We remained like that for a small eternity. We were so
entrapped in each other and in our own little bubble that it
felt like a blissful dream.
Stone took deep breaths against my skin. He placed his lips
below my bellybutton and lingered there as he slowly
started to drag my thong down my legs.
The whole of my body felt weak and immobile. The whole of
me felt lenient on him.
He tapped my right ankle and I managed to lift my shaky
leg. He then done the same with my left leg until my black
thong was a discarded piece of fabric.
Suddenly his face was buried in between my legs and my
whole body jolted at the sudden warmth of his tongue.
"Ohhhh!" I let out as my head fell back and my grip on his
hair tightened.
One long and wicked lick of his tongue had me screaming. 
He clutched my hips which caused me to jerk wildly.
The hotness of his tongue circled my hypersensitive nub
and I felt like I was going to collapse. He was the only thing
holding me up as he circled the bundle of nerves.
Ever so slowly he moved his tongue downwards and then
with one precise movement he was delving deep into my
bare core.
I could not see straight from the sheer pleasure.
There was not one single part of me that he was not
exploring.
Stone increased the pressure of his tongue on my heat. He
dug his fingers into my hips to control my movements as I
tried grinding into his mouth.
I did not know if I was going to survive. I was being tuned
into a melting puddle of a mess. It was not going to be long
until I fell apart.
The surging pressure crashed down into my groin, making
my mouth part and having me hold my breath.
My heart lodged in my throat and so did my scream.
He devoured as if it was his last meal on earth.
"You taste unearthly." He roughly released from his throat,
momentarily delaying his consuming of all of me "I could
taste only you for the rest of my life and I would never get
enough."
Long rushed breaths left my mouth as my head fell back
further.
"Please." I begged and it came out as a whine "Please."
"Someone is needy this morning." He chuckled against my
wet core before leaving a small kiss on the sensitive bud
and then continuing his attack “Pull me in tight. Show me
how badly you want my tongue."
Tears were rolling down my face as I combed my hands
through his hair and gripped on tightly.
One of his large hands fell from my hips. I whimpered at the
loss of heat that came with his touch on my body.
Suddenly two fingers plunged into me, and I was sent into
orbit.
I mewled and whimpered his name. The whimpers turning to
moans as I pleaded with him.
He stretched my opening with his fingers. He continued his
powerful even strokes of his tongue against my bare lips
while circling and thrusting his thick fingers inside of me.
It was a torturous pleasure that I could live in forever.
However, I could not endure it due to the increasing
pressure weighing down on me and demanding release.
I screamed his name desperately.
With a few more measured strokes of his fingers and his
tongue, I had found enlightenment. It felt I had been hurled
off a cliff and I was free-falling into bliss.
If he was not holding me then I would most likely collapse.
He lapped and sucked. His movements grew slow and
steady which helped me lower my dangerously high heart
rate.
His tongue travelled up the middle of my stomach then
higher between my breasts as he rose to his feet. He
continued to trail up my neck and he skimmed my chin
before pulling back to look at me.
Stone's obsidian gaze fell onto my face before he buried his
face into the crook of my neck and nuzzled while whispering
"God, I have missed you."
"How have you missed me? I haven't been anywhere?" I
rebutted confusedly but I wrapped my arms around him
anyway.
"You have been sleeping."
I pulled away from him and laughed "We have only had two
hours sleep, you weirdo!"
He let out a grumble at the loss of contact that came with
me pulling away. Then as the proactive demanding man that
he was, he grabbed my hips and nudged me towards him.
I moved into his warm embrace more than willingly. I rested
my chin against his firm stomach while I looked up at him.
I was so in love with Valentine Stone.
Leaving a kiss on one of his eight abs, I then peered up and
delivered "I really do need to shower."
"I really do need to fuck you in the shower." The gruff low-
octaved voice delivered.
The heat covering my reddened face had shot down to my
core and once again I was shaking with excitement.
My lip twitched upwards, and I kept eye contact with the
giant as I slipped my hand down past the waistband of his
boxers. I never took my attention away from his face as I let
my hand curl around his erection.
I frowned unhappily when I could not wrap my hand around
the largeness of him. His ridiculously mammoth-sized
monster was definitely a two-hand job.
Stone took the opportunity to lower his forehead onto mine,
blessing me with a closer look at his content smile.
Giving up with trying to wrap my hand around him, I
decided to stroke one lone finger along a bulging vein on
the underside of his shaft.
"I love this." I whispered to him while rubbing my finger
back and forward and feeling him twitch under the contact.
He let out a husky and hoarse laugh when informing me "It
is all yours, baby."
I showed my approval at his words by smiling up at him and
by running my finger along the tip of his thick lengthy
arousal.
"I really love this." I expressed but then I looked away from
him when I added "I don't think I will ever stop being a little
intimidated by it though."
Stone groaned in appreciation, the noise completely primal
and full of hunger.
He swooped down and claimed my lips. He ravaged my
mouth possessively and viciously which forced me to realise
my grip on his hard length.
His hands were on my hips when he picked me up. He was
desperate and commanding with his movements as he
carried me towards the shower.
We were in a frenzied rush. Our love and lust for one
another challenged time as we became a hurried mess to be
under the hot water of the shower head.
Simmering steam surrounded the space. The condensation
smoked up and clouded the glass door to the shower. The
white tiles of the shower wall were wet and hot.
I was unsure what was making the bathroom hotter. The
water spurting from above us or the smouldering darkened
gaze of the man about to ravish me.
I was yanked closer to his chest, and I felt the full powerful
impact of the blow of his hardness pushing into my groin.
The urgent need to have him inside me had me breaking
our kiss and tugging at his boxers to get them down his long
muscular legs.
He released one hand from my waist to assist the riddance
of his boxers. Seconds later and his massive bulky erection
was pointing straight at me.
I needed him.
The twitching and the moisture beading on the tip of the
impressive length suggested that Stone was very much in
need of me.
His clutch returned to my hips, and he pulled me back
towards his heaving hard chest.
Warm air tickled my neck as he sucked at the soft skin of
my throat.
"Wrap your legs around my waist." He growled while lifting
my body again as if it was a mere feather.
I complied without a thought. I wrapped my legs around his
waiting body as he lifted me into the air.
A loud needy cry escaped my mouth when his arousal
slipped over my swollen entrance.
I gasped so loud that it drowned out the sound of the
running water.
He crashed his lips against mine, moaning as our tongues
performed a ceremonial ferocious dance in one another's
mouths.
My hands ran down from his hair to his stubble and then to
his hard chest.
One of his hands was busy with my left nipple while the
other arm had wrapped around my waist and pinned me to
the tiled wall.
Hot water rained down our bodies as he worshipped my
mouth with his tongue and my breast with his calloused
hands.
"I have got you." He rasped out the promise as he pulled
back from my swollen mouth "I have always got you."
I nodded while looking into his eyes "I know."
I was burning all over. Every inch of me was scorching and it
had nothing to do with the hot water pouring over us.
I moved my hands around to grip his back when I felt him
rear back. I felt my toes curl as I watched him get ready to
enter me.
"Spread your legs for me." He ordered gently with a tender
look in his eyes "Let me see you, beautiful girl."
My thighs relaxed but I had to stretch wide further to
accommodate the size of my giant.
Bringing his hand down from my breast, he guided himself
to my entrance and looked straight into my eyes as the
head of his erection probed at me.
I shivered and my back rolled against the wall.
"I think we are more than acquenemies." I managed to
whisper though a moan.
He grumbled, his chest moving closer to mine.
Smiling at him, I told him tauntingly "We are getting a little
friendly."
And on a sharp shift of his hips, he thrusted upwards. He
filled me to the absolute hilt while slamming his hand back
onto the wall beside my head with a roar.
I screamed in delight.
"Does that feel good, Drizella?" He forced out throatily
between powerful relentless thrusts that pushed me further
up the tiled wall "Is there anything friendly about the way I
am giving you my cock?"
I clawed at him to try and get some grip but the water
running down his back made it impossible to hold onto him.
I rocked my hips up to meet his every thrust and he lowered
his mouth to mine. He attacked my lips barbarically,
matching his relentless rapid hip rhythm with his tongue.
He murmured my name again and again against my mouth
as if it was mantra. As if he was pleading with a divine spirit.
"You are mine." He growled between his ravenous kisses
"Always have been and you always will be."
Panting like crazy, I threw my head back and let the moans
fall from my mouth like a waterfall.
Stone was pushing me further towards absolute ecstasy.
His lips moved from my mouth to my exposed throat. The
hot water pouring down allowed him to skim and slide over
my heated skin.
Feeling him move inside me had me screaming for more.
Feeling the large man tremble with lust had me digging my
nails into his shoulder to motion for him to go harder.
Emotions were attacking me left right and centre.
I did not know if I wanted to cry because of the mix of
pleasure and pain or because my heart might burst with
love.
He moaned into my mouth as I moved my hands up to his
face and cupped his stubbled jaw.
"You were made for me." He released in a series of grunts
and groans "This is your soul finding its other half. This is
me taking what belongs to me. This is your pussy finding
the only man who is destined to touch it."
"It is yours." I gasped while shifting my hips towards him
"Do whatever you want with it."
"You are all mine now, my Medusa." He delivered gruffly and
gutturally "If anyone besides me sees you like this or even
thinks about you like this then I will rip their fucking throat
out."
"I know." I moaned while meeting his pair of dark eyes "It's
so hot."
I wanted to soak up the passion radiating from every inch of
his body and revel in it.
As his hunger grew, his thrusts turned hard, fast and
merciless.
I locked my thighs around his waist tighter and I tried to
keep my muscles strong even though they wanted to
collapse and allow my body to become dependent on his.
I was jerking up and down the wall to the rhythm of Stone's
dick. I did not need to hold on because his brutal thrusts
kept me up and his hands were holding me tightly.
He was owning my body. He was taking it like he had waited
his whole life for a chance to take me.
The giant shuddered and began grumbling incoherent words
against my lips. Whatever he was uttering sounded
possessive and territorial in tone.
Continuing with his voracious and vicious tempo, he nibbled
at lip before groaning against my mouth "You feel so fucking
perfect."
I was dying from the pleasure.
Stone's head tilted back slightly as he pulled in and out of
me once again "Fucking hell."
My whole body was shaking uncontrollably due to the
tortuous pleasure. It was all too much yet I never wanted it
to stop.
"Valentine." I used his name in a way to plead "Please."
His eyes met mine. The obsidian had darkened so much that
I could see my reflection in his irises perfectly. The pupils of
his eye had dilated significantly.
He growled deep in his throat while increasing his thrusts to
an even more determined and purposeful pace.
It was such an unforgiving cursory pace that before I had
never thought was possible.
I felt myself moulding to him as flesh hit flesh.
He was going to rip in me in half. He was going to wreck and
ruin me and I was going to let him.
I tightened my thighs to the point of pain but that only
increased the friction and thankfully also my pleasure.
I was thrown over the threshold and I erupted around him
on a scream.
My eyes fluttered while I cried in happiness. I let them close
while I entered cloud nine and then flew past the seventh
heaven.
"Eyes open." The deep guttural voice barked in demand,
slamming into me at every word he spoke "Look at me."
I was shaking so badly that the kinetic energy could
probably power a house or perhaps burn down a skyscraper.
I felt myself milk him to within an inch of his life
A claiming roar left his throat as he moved one last time and
held himself deep inside of me. He bellowed my name as his
large burly body jerked against mine and as the warm
sensation of his release filled me to the brim.
I dropped my forehead against his chest. I was panting
loudly, and my heartbeat was triple what it should have
been.
He held me in place against his chest with one arm. His free
forearm rested against the wall of the shower while his face
buried in my neck.
Stone was breathless yet he did not look tired.
The shower was pouring down on us, but I could still hear
our uneven breaths over the pounding water.
I sighed in content.
My mind had turned to mush, and I knew that if he set me
down on the floor, I would fall and then not be able to get
back up for a month or two.
Stone turned so that his back was against the tiles. He slid
down the wall, taking me with him so that I was straddling
his lap on the shower floor.
I kept my face hidden in his shoulder as I tried to calm down
my body. It was near enough impossible though because he
was still lodged inside of me, and he was pulsating once
again.
I never thought it was possible to feel so close to someone.
I was totally and utterly wrecked.
After staring at his medusa tattoo for a good few minutes
and leaving a kiss on his shoulder, I pulled back to look at
him.
He cupped my face with one of his large rough palms. He
removed the wet green hair stuck to my face so that he
could see me better.
"I love you, Ella." He grumbled out as softly as he could as
he stroked my wet back with his free hand.
"I love you too." I said back with a smile before I leaned
closer and upwards to kiss his jaw.
To distract myself from the sensation of him growing inside
of me and stretching me out to unmeasurable lengths once
again, I peered around the shower. I studied the mark on the
wall where my body had been handled.
Finally, I drew my attention to where part of his erection had
disappeared inside of me. Part being only half of him, yet it
was enough to impale me.
"That was..." I trailed off breathily because I was unable to
describe what had just happened.
Stone hummed in agreement.
I stared into his eyes, and he stared into mine. I let him see
my happiness and he let me see his.
All of this was getting too lovey-dovey for my liking, so I
decided to poke at the dragon. It would not be us if I did not
tease the large man.
"We are pretty good together." I giggled while allowing my
finger to run down his chest "It is a real pity that this is just
a one-night stand."
Half a second later and he had pounced. My back was on
the shower floor, and I was looking up at the pair of dark
eyes looming over me
"Drizella." He growled, nudging my entrance once again
with his hardness while his hands dragged down across my
breasts "I already claimed you as mine. There is no going
back."
I felt my lips pucker slightly as I questioned haughtily "And
when did you do this claiming?"
I was taunting him so he would show me once again who I
belonged to.
He leaned down, left a kiss on my nose and then pulled back
so he could watch my reaction as he entered me again
"Since the second your eyes met mine."
The hot water continued to run down our bodies as Stone
began bearing down on me savagely and brutally.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty
"For the past two hours I have been trying to mix
acquaintance and enemy and lover to make a new name for
you, but nothing is really working." I told him as we made
our way onto the beach.
"You will just have to call me your boyfriend then."
I taunted him with a sweet smile "Who says that I am your
girlfriend?"
His hands snaked around my waist as he gruffly spoke "I
doubt you will let me marry you so it will have to do. For
now."
Decided to play along with him, I laughed "Marry me? I must
have made quite the impression last night."
Stone grumbled something under his breath that was
inaudible to me.
When he asked what I wanted to do that day, I told him that
I had built up a fondness for the beach. I did not elaborate
that it was because of him. That is when he suggested that
he would teach me how to surf.
I thought surfing looked cool, but I was not naive in the way
that I thought I was going to be any good at it.
Stone kept walking ahead as I held back and watched him.
More especially his back. From a couple of yards away, you
could still tell what was tattooed on his back for all to see.
It still sent my heart racing at the view of the gorgon's head.
That was despite spending at least an hour studying each
line the previous night in bed. At which at the same time, he
watched me watching him with an amused smile.
I also spent a good two hours apologising to him for the
marks on his back due to my nails. I felt so bad that I almost
cried but he reassured me with a grin that he was going to
wear the scratch marks like a badge of honour.
The medusa head disappeared as the large man turned
around. He had the same contest and entertained
expression that he had hours ago.
I jogged to catch up with him and when I did, he linked his
free hand that was not holding the surfboard with mine.
"Do you like your mark on me, Medusa?" He asked.
I assumed he meant the tattoo and not my claw marks. I
was going to have to convince him to get his whole back
tatted.
Nudging him with my hip in response, I did not let go of his
hand as I replied, "You know that you are kind of a romantic,
Lurch."
He sent me a glare "No. I am not."
"Should I expect you to recite sonnets to me soon?" I
teased.
Stone smirked "It is a shame that your love poem is in my
other set of shorts."
I smiled suggestively "It would not hurt for me to check the
ones you have on now."
His head lowered slightly, and I thought he was about to pull
me closer when a voice called his name from near the
water.
Reed was also carrying a surfboard as he ran in our
direction. The tattooist's hair looked more copper in the sun
and his round glasses were gone.
He reached us and it was apparent that he was serious. His
demeanour was nothing like what I saw of him at the
parlour.
His presence also made the smile on Stone's face drop.
Then I realised that the night I got my tattoo was not the
last time they had spoken. Reed was who he was speaking
to on the phone when I was eavesdropping in the
Armstrong's bathroom.
Whatever issue they had then they still had now. The
tension in the air was thick and I could feel Stone next to me
start to tense.
The red-headed male ignored Stone completely as he
smiled warmly at me "Hey Ella."
"Hi." I replied before trying to fill in the awkward silence
"How have you been?"
"I have been great. Just really busy at the tattoo shop." He
answered but I could tell that the reason for him running
over here was not to make small conversation with me
"You are very talented. I am always admiring your
handiwork on my leg." I said as I motioned to the ink on my
thigh.
"Your dragon might have been my best freehand work. That
or Stone's tattoo." He then added while looking at the giant
"I can see that you have shown her it."
Stone did not speak. He gave a glare of warning to the guy
opposite us.
"I bet you thought he was crazy when you seen it." Reed
laughed.
"Yeah, crazy is an understatement." I responded, "It was just
last night he showed it to me."
"So, you two are together now?" The tattooist smiled and he
looked hopeful.
The silent one of us finally decided to speak up "Yes."
All went silent again and I could feel Stone's hand twitch in
mine. That is why I let go of him and pulled back slightly.
"I am going to leave you both to it." I voiced as I looked
between the two of them "It seems like you two have
something to work out."
"Ella—" Stone began.
I cut him off "It is fine. I will just walk ahead, and you can
catch up."
He nodded once and I waved goodbye to Reed before I
walked away from them, wondering what could have them
so mad at each other.
My steps were a lot slower than normal because I tried to
catch part of their conversation.
Their voices were fast and quiet. I could differentiate
between the two of them because Stone's voice was a lot
deeper, and his answers were only a couple of syllables.
That seemed to be annoying Reed because he started
talking louder.
From about twenty metres away from them, I could hear
Reed shouting clearly "Where the fuck were you?"
Stone's reply was too low to be heard.
"I get it." Reed said, "She is your priority and the only thing
that matters to you but—"
Their voices faded as I walked on further along the beach. I
started to get closer to the waves until I could no longer feel
the grains of sand between my toes.
When I got as far as the sea up to my ankles, I sat down and
rested back on my hands.
The scorching sun shone down on the waves and the water
sparkled. The heat made me close my eyes and for the first
time in a long time, I felt content. I could truly tell myself
that I was happy and that I meant it.
My eyes opened when I felt someone sit down next to me.
Stone matched my position, and I could see his hand a
millimetre from mine in the clear water. He was not looking
at me though. He was staring out to the horizon with a
clenched jaw.
I reached that millimetre and laid my hand on his.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
He turned his head and finally met my eyes "Yeah. Reed was
just pissed at Brennan for something."
Frowning at my knees, I knew that was not the problem, but
I was not going to push him for the truth. I just hoped that
when he was ready to tell me then he would.
The giant hand squeezed mine and I could tell he was
starting to calm down.
I attempted to change the subject "What are you thinking
about?"
"I am remembering how someone told me that we have
discovered more of Mars and Venus than our own ocean."
He said with obvious amusement at the memory.
"This person sounds very intelligent."
"They are." He agreed before chuckling "They also said they
wanted to study my tattoos like the guy in the Da Vinci Code
does with symbols."
"I did not say that!" I half muttered and half-shouted
The night of Chase's party was blurry, but I did remember
saying that. Even if I did not remember then I still would
have known it was me. It sounded exactly like something I
would say.
I stood up and glared down at him while trying to hide my
reddened face "So are we going surfing or what?"
My boyfriend had the surfboard in one hand and the other
wrapped around my waist as we walked deeper into the sea.
My boyfriend. The title sent a whirlpool of emotions swirling
around me, yet the name did not seem efficient enough. It
was not enough for what I felt for him.
Once the water was up to my waist, he held the board in
place on the surface of the waves and told me to get on. I
put my hands on the side of the board and pushed myself
up so I could fling my leg over.
When I did, the board rocked with unbalance, and I went
plummeting into the water.
I swam up to the surface and ignored the chuckling from the
colossal sea monster holding the board in place.
With a quick glower his way, I grabbed the board and tried
again. The next time I tried to grip onto the board with more
body strength to pull myself on it.
I was on for a good half-second before I was emerged in the
water again.
Even underwater, I could hear a deep chuckle which fuelled
my determination even more.
The attempts went on for another ten minutes. None of
which were successful. He tried to help me, but I pushed
him away as I was so adamant about getting on the thing.
Just as I was about to begin attempt one hundred and one,
Stone beat me to it.
With one hand on the board, he leapt onto the thing
effortlessly and I tried not to gape at how easy he made it
look.
He did not waste any time because picked me up by the hip
and placed me on the board, so we were facing each other.
Stone had a cocky grin as he motioned to my solemn face "I
did not think you were going to be this bad. You are really
terrible, Medusa."
I began to make up excuses "I did not get much sleep last
night. Someone kept me up. I am tired."
My argument was strong. I thought back to the eight
different rounds and the countless times that I had felt like I
had gone to another universe and back.
A grin grew on his face at my excuse. He raised an eyebrow
at my remark.
I quickly dipped my hand in the water and splashed him
with all my power. It still did not wipe the smirk off his face.
"You just need more practise." He stated the obvious "As
your teacher, I think I might need to see you every day for
lessons."
Rolling my eyes, I leaned closer "You would like that,
wouldn't you?"
"I would." He confirmed roughly.
With much compliance, I let him bring my body to his. He
tilted my chin up and began to lean closer.
My plan was ready to be carried out because as soon as his
lip stroked mine and he was distracted, I tried to nudge him
off the board.
He did not move, and I cursed his largeness.
His face was what I imagined a lion would look like as it
chased a gazelle. He smiled sinisterly as he leaned to one
side. He grabbed me as we both fell into the water.
Stone did not let go of me as we swam back up the surface.
I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck as his hands
rested on my hips and then I kissed him for real.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-One
Stone's arm rested on the back of my chair and every
minute his hand moved up and brushed my neck. A small
movement that might not have looked like much, but it was
enough to send my heart racing. It was enough to make me
think of things that were not deemed appropriate for in the
school building.
From the other side of the table, Lana grinned at us.
During period one, two and a bit of four, she had me explain
what had happened after my revelation at the mall. Once I
had finished telling her everything except the intimate
details, she hit me with a load of I-told-you-so's and a few
more comment about my obliviousness.
Despite that, the blonde helpless romantic squealed "So are
you two finally officially together?"
The giant answered for me and spoke one strong syllable
"Yes."
It was unusual to see Brennan quiet. He had not said more
than five words since the start of lunch. All he did was look
around the lunchroom for something or someone.
The relationship between Lana and Brennan was not doing
so well. I had asked Lana about it a dozen times, but she
just changed the subject.
Brennan seemed to shake off what he was thinking because
he gained back his smile as he turned to my best friend and
said, “It looks like I owe you ten dollars, Lovely Lana."
Lana did not meet his eye, but she did reply "Yeah. It does."
Pointing at them accusingly, I questioned a with sharp tone
"Did you have a bet about when Stone and I would get
together?"
"Of course, we did." Brennan responded with a smirk "Lana
was the closest with two months. I said three weeks and I
was so sure of it. I lost thanks to you, Ella."
"I know my best friend and her stubbornness." She
explained with a smile.
I sent a glare their way before turning to Stone and asking,
"Can you believe they had a bet about us?"
He stayed quiet with a small smile on his lips and no trace
of surprise about what had just been said.
"You do not look shocked." I voiced before going on to put
my hands on my hips and asserting "Why are you not
shocked about this?"
Stone leaned closer until he was grazing my ear with his
mouth. He did not seem to care that we had company or
that we were in a public place.
I was frozen still at the contact and as much as I wanted to
move my head to the side and see his face, I did not. I
wanted to hear what he had to say.
"I lost the bet." He said with no elaboration as he nibbled
my earlobe softly.
At his words, I turned my head and raised my brow "You
were involved in this little bet too?"
"A week is what I had my money on." Stone answered
before adding "That is what I hoped for anyway, but my girl
happens to be very strong willed."
My face began to heat up as I was lost for words. I blinked
while I was still trying to process what he was telling me.
"Ha-Ha. You lost." I retorted tauntingly while smiling up at
him "Maybe you just need to work on your flirting."
His arm that was around the chair moved to around my
waist and it was pulling me closer towards him. So close
that I was practically on his lap. He was getting his revenge
because he put his veiny hand on my leg and started to
draw circles on the inside of my thigh.
My ear was back in the grasp of his teeth as he quietly and
gruffly disclosed "I never really lost. I got you."
"Yeah." I released breathily "You did."
I hated public affection. I used to feel sick while watching
couples snogging in the corridor. I currently wanted to jump
the giant's bones and it left me feeling like a hypocrite.
Brennan tutted from the other side of the lunch table "If I
thought you two had it bad for each other before then it is
worse now. The flirting is now even hotter."
"I never flirted with him at the start." I tried to argue.
"Really?" Brennan said, unconvinced "It was not the
traditional way of flirting, but it was flirting all right. Freaky
hate flirting. It is like you both speak a secret language only
you two know. All nerd-talk that nobody else gets."
Embarrassed at the conversation, I let out a small giggle
while paying an unnatural amount of attention to the
noodles on my plate. Stone chuckled at my mortified state.
I jabbed him in the ribs by that only resulted in him touching
a part of my leg that he knew was ticklish.
When I finally remembered that he and I were not the only
two people in the world, I looked up and found Lana with a
puzzled expression on her face.
She asked with a gleam of inquisitive in her blue eyes "What
does your dad think about you two?"
"Also due to Stone's bedroom never being occupied
anymore, I can only guess he stays at yours." Brennan
added in a mischievous tone "What does your father think
about that?"
I grew tense in my seat. The hand on my lap squeezed in
response, probably in encouragement to finally tell Lana the
truth.
It was the perfect opportunity to come clean and tell her
about my dad, but I did not.
Keeping full eye contact with her so she did not suspect that
I was lying through my teeth, I crossed my arms that leant
on the table and explained "My dad knows about Stone. He
just does not know that he stays over. Lurch climbs up to my
room. He is like a spider monkey."
Lana and Brennan could not contain their amusement.
"Actually, he is more like a giraffe." I corrected before
explaining "I live one storey up so his head is pretty much
poking through on the ground already."
After my funny and obscure rant of an explanation, Stone
did not laugh. He appeared worried as he watched me.
The other two looked convinced and went back to having a
conversation with each other. Their talk did not last long as
Lana only nodded as he spoke.
Lana stood abruptly up from the table and announced "I am
actually going to go and practise in the music room for a
while. I have an assignment and I really need it to be
perfect."
Suspecting that it was not just about music, I smiled up at
her while already pulling myself away from Stone's embrace
“Do you want me to come with you?"
Her hair swished as she violently shook her head "I do need
to practise. You just distract me by finding a drum or even a
triangle to make noise with."
I let out a small laugh "That is how I show my support."
She waved and laughed before walking away. Her reply did
seem genuine when she hinted that she wanted to be alone.
Maybe it was a music assignment that occupied her mind. If
it was that or something else, then I hoped she was okay.
Once she had left, Brennan shook his head before smirking
towards Stone "Mom is asking that you come visit tomorrow
night. She has not seen you for a week. Plus, she is
desperate to hear the latest about Ella."
Feeling unbelievable guilty that I was the one stealing him
away from his family, I glared at Stone and told him "You are
going. I can't believe you have not been home. Mrs Lewis
must hate me."
"She loves you, Ella." Brennan scoffed before explaining
"Mom knows why Stone has been preoccupied. She says
that she wants to borrow him from you for a night."
I turned to the guy next to me and repeated "You are going."
Stone interjected, "But I told you that I would take you out
tomorrow night."
"I do not care. You will go back to your house or..." I stopped
and thought of a threat that would work "Or I will not kiss
you for a week."
His eyes darkened as he challenged me to even try to stop
him from kissing me.
He let out a smile grumble before he surrendered to my
bargaining chip and asked Brennan "What time?"
I grinned at Stone as Brennan laughed while he typed on his
phone.
Once Brennan had finished texting, he smiled at the two of
us "Now I know where to go if I need something from
Stone."
"Little minx." The giant commented from beside me and
then lowered his hoarse voice "You are coming with me."
Brennan butted in "Of course she is coming. I think mom
wants to see your roommate more than she wants to see
you."
The hand on my leg started rising teasingly as Brennan
continued talking about the difficulties of life without Stone
in the house like how he had more chores.
I could not focus on any details of what was is saying.
When I started to feel a sigh about to escape from within
me, I pulled back and thought of anything that I could to
make myself less flustered.
"I need to go to my locker to switch some books for my gym
clothes. Also, I need to grab the massive list that I wrote for
Coach Carson." I voiced in the form of a groan "He is failing
me for gym class so I have written him a mini essay on why
he should let me pass."
"No wonder you are failing." Brennan replied "You sit and do
nothing all periods
"I do not have enough speed or stamina." I complained.
It was when Brennan went back to eating his lunch that
Stone looked over at me with a suggestive smirk.
He mouthed "Liar."
Standing up to go, I leaned over his shoulder and whispered
sweetly "I am going to kill you, Lurch."
Stone turned his head and made it so I was inches from his
face. The hot air from his mouth hit my bottom lip as I licked
my lips. His black eyes darkened once again as he focused
on my mouth.
I found it difficult to not bring his lips to mine and climb on
top of him. Cafeteria be damned.
He shook his head with a smile. Not a smug one but one of
content as he spoke "I do not think you will, Medusa."
"Why is that?" I returned.
"Because you love me."
Covering my mouth to try and wipe off my grin, I glared at
him before I turned to leave "I can love the memory of you
after I have got rid of you."
"Not possible." He rasped darkly.
The halls were empty. Just an endless stretch of mustard-
coloured lockers as I passed them. A few of the plain lockers
were decorated with posters for The Fall Ball.
One of them in particular stood out as Chase's. A sticker
with the logo of his football team was on the top of his one.
The quarterback leaned against the door of his locker. A few
of his friends were there too. About four of them were play
fighting with one of the guys in a headlock.
I was a few lockers away from his, so he noticed when I
opened my locker to exchange my chemistry books for a
change of clothes. I tried to keep my attention on the back
of the locker as he approached.
The next conversation was one that I had been dreading all
day. I was never really in a relationship with Chase, but I
thought out of decency that I should tell him about Stone.
Chase had been of the first people I had confided in about
my parents. He had also opened up to me and shared his
story about his broken home. As little as a bond we had, it
was still a bond.
He rested his arm on the locker next to mine as he greeted
me "Gym, huh? I bet you are excited for that."
I let out a nervous laugh "You know me. I just love
exercising."
"Is that why you are not going to the dance?" He joked while
chuckling "You are just too lazy."
"Actually...I am going."
All amusement drained from his face. He tensed and
frowned.
"So, you are going with him then?" He spat.
"No." I answered truthfully "I am going with Lana."
He laughed but it was void of amusement and sounded
more mocking "But you are with him now?"
"Yes."
It went quiet between us until one of his friends standing in
the place he was before, called over "Shocker! We all knew
it was going to happen!"
The holler reminded Chase that he had a small audience
and that is why he sneered and spoke again in a bitter tone
“He only wants you for one thing."
I questioned, "And what is that?"
"I am going to be honest with you because he will not be."
Chase tutted "You are hot, and you have daddy issues. The
only two things that matter to him."
"Daddy issues?" I repeated with the same amount of malice
he had in his voice "Are you serious?"
"He is going to fuck you and then he is going to ditch you."
He moved in closer while continuing his angry rant.
"Excuse me?"
"Then where does that leave you?" Chase asked before
answering "Poor little Ella Miller, heartbroken."
I opened my mouth and then closed it again before I raised
my tone "What the hell!"
"Whatever. I do not care." He shook his head while chuckling
"You will probably end up just like your mom anyway."
As much as I wanted to slap that stupid grin off his face, I
remained cool and emotionless because I knew that would
annoy him.
It did. He had insulted me for the theatrics and the reaction,
and I was not going to entertain him.
He continued "I can understand why your dad runs a mile
every time he sees you."
At the mention of my father, my bottom lip felt as if it was
trembling and all I could see was red. He had brought back
thoughts that I had tried to press down.
I took a step closer subconsciously and I was up in his face
while insulting him “My dad is a drunk. He is under the
influence of alcohol. What is your excuse for your parents
hating your existence?"
Chase said nothing.
I continued "Even in their right mind, your mommy and
daddy will not come home to you."
A chorus of oh’s and ah's come from behind him, and I
suddenly felt a small, twisted feeling of pride.
I was about to walk off and claim my victory when he
grabbed my arm. Tightly, he held my wrist and pulled me
back to him and I almost cried out in pain.
I did not back down from his glare. I could not see my arm,
but I knew it was probably red at the strength he was
putting on it.
Chase smirked down at me, and it made me want to punch
his teeth out.
"Do you know where he goes at nights, Medusa?" He asked,
his tone turning lighter.
"Do not call me that." I bit out.
He noticed that I had avoided the question because he leant
closer "You are a game to him. You were hard to get. Now
that he has you, he will not want you anymore."
I froze and listened to him.
"Where did you think he goes at nights?" Chase asked, "He
is away getting with every other girl stupid enough like you
to fall for him."
After a few breaths and fighting the urge to hit his head off
the lockers, I exhaled "Fuck you."
"Do not come running back to me when you find out." He
spat.
A few boys were laughing from behind us. I did not really
care. All I wanted was to get out of there. Throwing my bag
over my shoulder, I swivels around and watched my feet as I
walked away.
Then I heard a bang.
Chase was against the lockers and Brennan had him by the
collar.
Brennan looked furious. As furious as I had ever seen him.
I knew then that Brennan was not just the easy-going guy as
I thought. He had a hidden anger like an underwater
predatory animal hiding in the depths of the ocean.
I reached for his arm and tried to calm down "Just leave
him."
I was so determined to get out of there without reacting that
I sent Brennan another pleading look before he finally gave
in, and we walked away.
The science block stairs came into view as we sauntered
away. I dropped down on the steps and let out an agitated
moan
Brennan sat down next to me and put his arm on my
shoulder "Ella, are you okay?"
I nodded my head and then laugh humourlessly "How much
of that did you hear?"
"All of it." He admitted "I was heading to the bathroom and
seen you at your locker. I was about to come up to you, but
that asshole beat me to it."
"He makes jokes to show off all the time, but they are
usually harmless." I said to him "I am just humiliated that it
is out there now about my dad—"
"Chase is an ass. That is it. None of that was your fault." He
reassured before apologising "I never would have
mentioned your dad back at the table if I knew."
Turning on the stair, I pleaded "Please do not tell Lana."
"Why have you not told her?"
Rubbing my arm discreetly which felt like it still had
pressure on it from Chase's grip, I let out a small chuckle at
his expression as I pointed to it "So she does not look at me
like you are right now."
"Like what?"
"Like I am some puppy that has been kicked." I replied with
a small smile "I do not need sympathy and I do not want to
worry her."
The surfer spoke while glancing down at my reddened arm
"You need to tell Stone about what Chase said."
"What good would that do?"
Brennan let his jaw drop like it was an obvious solution "He
can kick the living shit out of him."
I did not have any intention of telling Stone. I hated what
Chase had said but I did not want him to be six-foot
underground.
The only thing going through my head was Chase's words.
Over and over again.
A soft but stern voice broke my train of thought as Brennan
spoke again "Don't you dare even think that anything Chase
said was true. Stone would never look at anyone else."
Nothing left my lips in reply.
"There was nobody before you and there will be nobody
after you." Brennan said as if it was the undeniable truth
"You are it for him. All he sees is you. You are the most
important thing to him in the whole world. If not the only."
Chase words disappear from my mind, and they seemed so
irrelevant and insignificant compared to what Brennan had
said.
I was digesting every word he had said but my expression
must not have changed because Brennan kept speaking.
"I love my brother, but he is one moody fucker. He never
showed any feeling to anything at all." He retold with a grin
"Then you walked into the ice cream parlour that night at
the pier and his breath hitched as soon as he seen you. You
opened your mouth and spoke all of your nerdy stuff and I
think that his heart skilled a beat. It was like he was cast
under some sort of spell."
I was lost for words.
"Ever since that night, he laughs, he jokes, and he is happy."
Brennan continued "That is all because of you."
My breath hitched and I had no idea what to say because
there were no words. It only could have felt better if it was
Stone telling me the words.
"Should you really be telling me this?" I questioned.
"No." He muttered to himself as he looked at the floor "But
at least I am not telling you about the Addams Family thing."
"Oh, I already know about that."
His head snapped up "What? I did not think that he would
tell you."
"He didn't." I replied, "Mrs Lewis did."
"I told her not to tell anyone." Brennan chuckled but it
sounded strained and full of fear "Promise me you will
protect my face when Stone comes to pummel it."
I could not help but admire their relationship. They really
were brothers in every way that mattered.
"You two are so cute" I mentioned.
"You are insulting our masculinity, Little Ella." He joked
before adding seriously "You need to tell Stone."
"It does not matter." I argued.
"Yes. It does." He affirmed
"What is done is done." I sighed.
Brennan noticed my dishearten behaviour and wrapped his
arms around me before pulling my body into his embrace as
he spoke "You need a Brennan-hug."
Deep determined footsteps were heard from behind me.
Stone was standing in front of us like some avenging fallen
angel. He towered over my sitting stance, casting a shadow.
"Give her to me." Stone growled.
I pulled away and rolled my eyes at his terminator stance.
The dark gaze flicked over my face determinedly. Then his
expression contorted to an alarmed expression.
I blinked and he had moved in front of me. He kneeled
beside me so he could cup my face in his large hands.
I thought that I was good at hiding what I was thinking. Even
when I was upset. Turned out that I was not.
At least not with the person who knew me most.
"What is wrong? What happened to you?" He tried to ask
softly but it came out as pressing and darkly impatient.
"Nothing." I gave him my best attempt at a smile "I am
fine."
His tone was rough and commanding as he spoke my name
"Ella."
It both made my heart soar and annoyed me how he
seemed to know my thoughts better than myself.
When I just kept staring into his eyes and not saying
anything, he scanned up and down my body until his
attention lingered on my arm for longer.
I looked down at where he was frowning at. There was no
explanation needed, the redness and the faint marks of a
hand mark spoke for itself.
"I am fine" I tried to reassure again.
At this point, Stone was shaking with anger as he gnarled at
Brennan "What happened?"
"Well—" The surfer began.
Stone cut him off as he snarled in a dark and threatening
tone "Who do I need to kill?"
I shot Brennan a pleading look.
He ignored me as he told Stone "Chase said some stuff to
Ella and—"
That was all the giant needed to hear because he took his
hands from my face and clenched them into fists.
If he was angry before then he was outraged now. It was the
most wrathful I had seen him. His dark pupils darkened
further, his jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared.
Before I could even comprehend his intentions, he was
already storming down the halls away from us. Away from
me.
I sent Brennan a look of concern before I rushed down the
hallway after the large figure while shouting "What are you
doing?"
Chase and his friends were still standing in the same place
they were before. Like sitting ducks.
Stone took large steps towards the quarterback like he was
on a warpath and as graceful as a cobra without warning, he
grabbed Chase by the T-shirt and threw him against a
locker.
The sound of his back hitting the metal travelled through
the halls and made me wince. What also had me concerned
was the fact that four lockers had been dented from the
impact.
I was shouting and so were some other people, but Stone
did not care. The boys that were standing with Chase just
watched as they appeared too scared to say anything.
None of them dared to cross the path of Stone.
"You fucking touched her?" Stone bellowed into the
footballer's face, the tendons in his neck so tight that they
looked like they were going to snap.
Chase laughed.
I had never compared the two males before. Chase, I had
always considered tall but now he seemed to cower in front
of the mountain who had a hold of him. Chase was well built
but that was nothing compared to Stone's build that was
over three hundred pounds of muscle.
There was not a second thought about who would win
between them. I could not name one person that I thought
would have the courage to take on the man built like a
gorilla.
Stone had Chase off the floor and in his grip while he lowly
sneered at him under his breath. The grumbling threats of
Stone were too low to be heard.
The quarterback's eyes widened in fear.
Then Chase grew some sort of courage because he retorted
loudly to Stone "What are you going to do when she finds
you out? What are you going to do when you lose her?"
Stone reacted instantly to the words. He let out a growl as
he wrapped his skull-tattooed hand around his neck and
squeezed.
Chase quickly turned blue as Stone continued cutting off his
oxygen supply.
I blinked a few times before I quickly unfroze from my
stunned place.
I reached up and placed my hand on the flexed forearm that
was holding the blonde guy's neck.
The contact did not stop Stone glaring at the guy pressed up
against the locker with all the hate and terror in the world.
I applied more pressure to the bulky arm and tried shaking
him, my gaze flicking between Stone and a very blue Chase.
Stone did not move an inch. It was like he could not hear
me, and he had entered a fit of rage that nobody could
break.
Everyone could feel the anger pulsate through the room, but
nobody intervened.
"Stone." I tried to sound calm but stern despite my panic
"He has had enough."
A realisation hit me that made my voice come out panicked
as I called his name.
Stone could murder someone with a flick of his wrist.
The giant relaxed when he heard my voice. The taut
tendons and the bulging veins in his arms faded away under
my touch.
What Chase said was horrible and wrong, but I did not want
him to get seriously hurt.
He was still the Chase that was the person most there for
me when my mother died. He was still the Chase who let me
sleep over in his guest room when I felt too lonely or too
scared to go home. He was still the Chase who helped
during a dark time.
The quarterback fell to the floor with a thud as Stone let go
of his neck and turned to me.
The hardness in his rough face and dark eyes disappeared
as he looked down at me. His expression went soft and
loving like he was not just strangling someone a second ago.
Before Chase could run away, Stone barked in his direction
"If you ever touch her or talk to her again then I will fucking
gut you."
The blonde jock nodded.
Once he and his buddies walked a few metres away, Chase
started laughing mockingly like he was wanting a rise from
him.
I felt the tension in Stone's arm muscles and watched as the
veins bulged. That is why I grabbed hold of his hand to stop
him.
"Do not do anything." I begged, "Just let him go."
Stone gazed down at me and gritted out "Why?"
"It has been dealt with. I did not just stand there and not
defend myself." I told him before trying to guilt-trip him into
calming down "Do you not think I can handle myself?"
"He hurt you." He gritted out like it was causing him pain to
see my reddened arm.
"I do not need you to swoop in and save me." I gave him a
pointed look "I love that you care that much but I can take
care of myself. Plus, I don’t want you in trouble."
His harsh facial features relaxed a little as he removed the
tension from his fists. He uncurled his hands and rested
them on my waist.
"I know you can stick up for yourself, Medusa." He stated
before explaining "But you should not have to. He fucking
hurt you and that is never going to sit well with me."
I tilted my head at him.
"I want to hurt him." He replied gruffly.
I placed my hands on his chest as I stepped closer "Please
calm down."
My marked arm was now visible and that did the very
opposite of what I was encouraging. As he saw it and let out
a deep rough noise.
His jaw clenched once again, and he closed his eyes "I am
going to need a better reason not to hunt him down."
There were a million reasons why I did not want that to
happen, but I went for the one line of persuasion that was
most likely to work.
"I do not want you getting kicked out of school for an
eighteenth time." I spoke while smiling up at him "Because
believe it or not, I kind of like you here with me, Lurch."
My smile seemed to do the trick because I could see a ghost
of a smile on his lips. The big arms around my waist pulled
me closer to his chest as he kissed my head.
A voice that I recognise as Brennan called from next to us "I
am gonna go now."
Laughing as Brennan scurries away, I peered up at Stone's
happier face and asked, "Are you okay now?"
"I should not have lost control like that." He bit out, his voice
depending on determinedness "Not with you that close."
I shook my head and decided to change the topic "I once
read this article about how to calm yourself when you are
mad. To relax you need to list stuff for a few minutes.
Nothing elementary like the alphabet but something with
loads of different answers. Like name countries or animals."
His grip on my hips strengthened once again like he was
scared that I was going somewhere or that I was going to be
stolen away.
He whispered into my hair "I could name all the things that I
love about you."
I hummed to myself in content because I could never get
enough of hearing those words from his lips.
I smiled wickedly up at him before teasing "I said a list for a
few minutes. Not one that lasts all day."
Stone finally relaxed completely, chuckling while kissing my
head again "You are wrong because my list would last a
lifetime."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Two
I watched the veins in the muscular tattooed arms bulge out
while Stone turned something with a spanner inside the
hood of the car.
My bare legs swung in a rhythm while I sat on one of the
worktops of the car repair shop. I had spent almost all day in
the same position, and I was not at all bored. In fact, I loved
seeing Stone in his element.
Even if he kept turning his head over his shoulder to peer at
me every two seconds.
"Can you pass me a hand-drill, Medusa?" The rough voice
said, meeting my eye for the hundredth time that minute.
I reached into the toolbox next to my butt and searched for
the hand drill before I threw it over to him. He caught it with
one hand and continued his job on the broken car.
"I am getting so good at all this mechanic stuff." I
announced, very pleased with myself "Soon I will be better
than you."
Stone stopped what he was doing. He put down his current
tool and faced me with a smirk. He rose a black eyebrow as
I sent him a cheerful grin.
"Come here." He demanded, motioning with a finger for me
to go to him.
Purposefully at a slow pace, I jumped off the countertop and
walked towards him and the open hood of the car. I stopped
a metre in front of him and tilted my head challengingly.
His huge hands gripped at my hips before he tugged me
towards him. Clutching at my waist, he moved me so that I
was standing in front of the car with my back to him.
I felt him lean down to linger close to my neck.
One of his hands moved from my hip to point to a circular
part in the car "What is that part called?"
"The air filter." I answered after a long pause.
The giant looming over me hummed in response.
I sent him a victorious smile over my shoulder.
He reached for the towel in his jean pocket and wiped his
fingers before pointing to another part in the hood of the
car.
Following his finger, I studied the white rectangular shaped
item that had four sockets with wires coming out of them
before I answered, "That is a spark plug."
The huge hand that was now clean of engine grease started
to travel down from my hips. His palm went past my leather
skirt before stopping. He began inching up the material.
Warmth touched my neck as the commanding mouth
started sucking on the skin below my jawline.
"Which part is the intake hose?" Stone uttered against my
skin.
That was when he chose to take his calloused palm and rip
my panties off.
His habit of ripping my clothes was soon going to leave me
without a wardrobe.
My breathing went erratic as I pressed my back against him
and tipped my head upwards slightly. I ignored the
excitement building up at the bottom of my stomach and
pointed to the large thick pipe near the left of the hood.
Stone planted a kiss on my neck while moving his fingers
until they covered the whole of my bare mould.
"Good girl." He rasped out in praise.
"What happens if I get an answer wrong?" I whispered my
question.
He chuckled hoarsely and evilly "Then you are all mine."
Thank all the sex gods that Mike was away on vacation with
his wife to Hawaii for their fiftieth anniversary.
A lone finger slipped into my wetness, and I shook at the
sensation. I leant all my weight onto the front of the large
man standing behind me as I let my eyes flutter shut for a
few seconds.
"Point to the throttle body." The deep voice amusedly
uttered against my earlobe.
His thick finger began to move. In and out. Filling the hole
and flicking over the spot that was needing attention.
There was no use trying to think about the correct answer.
There was no use trying to think at all. Not when I felt the
infinite amount of pleasure and anticipation.
My shaky hand pointed to a random place under the hood
as I gasped "Right there."
Stone released a dark laugh as he moved faster against my
sex. He kept going until he felt my walls convulse against
his index finger, trying to trap him in.
He stopped moving.
I let out a single cry at the loss of momentum.
"That is wrong, Medusa." He stated and did not bother to
give me the right answer.
All I could do was rock my hips and try to find my high by
riding his finger. The friction was not enough. I let out a
frustrated moan as I tried to encourage him to move.
That moan turned to a sad whimper of loss when he
removed the finger and brought it to his lips.
I turned around quickly, full of agitation. I ended up hitting
my forehead against his stomach that felt made up of steel.
Before I could bounce off his abdomen, he leaned down and
caught the back of my thighs.
"I need you." I whined, rubbing myself against him
impatiently.
"You will only ever need me." He stated like it was a
commandment from a superior being.
The well-built man with the look of unadulterated raw
hunger in his eyes lifted me so that I had no choice but to
wrap my legs around his middle.
He moved in a haste to carry me towards the nearest
available surface. Which so happened to be his motorbike.
My butt perched on the end of his Ducati as he set me down
and got rid of the leather skirt blocking his view of me.
The leather seat of the motorcycle was vibrating. It was not
because the engine was switched on. It was all due to my
whole body shaking with need and excitement.
Like the caveman he was, Stone got rid of the fabric
covering my upper half. He shredded the material for having
dared to come between him and my skin.
I sat naked on his bike while he stood fully clothed towering
over me. The contrast made my body warm with heat. I felt
so vulnerable and exposed yet so lusted over.
Stone stopped and watched me for a second. Taking in the
view of my panty-less ass on the leather seat.
I pouted up at him nervously "What if someone comes in
and sees?"
A low-octaved gnarl left his mouth as his hands protectively
roamed my body "Do you think that I would let anyone see
you?"
That answered my question. He would probably be a little
mad if another man saw me naked.
The large hand reached out and rested between my breasts.
Not on either of them but between. My nipples were
begging to be touched but he continued his torture. He
gently pushed me back until the leather was smooth against
my back.
My open legs dangled off the bottom of the bike while the
rest of my bare body was sprawled across the motorcycle.
I watched as Stone's veiny hand went down to wrestle at his
zipper. His desperate jerky movements only heightened my
anticipation. The look of love and starvation in his eye only
dampened the folds between my legs.
He growled "This bike might not survive what I am about to
do to your tiny body."
The leather material under me was definitely wet.
"Please." I begged, moving my hand and brushing it over
my chest "Please."
"Fuck Ella." Stone cursed, pushing down the waistband of
his boxer briefs "You make me so fucking hard."
His unnaturally large and thick shaft was finally free. It
sprung against his stomach before the meaty hand wrapped
a fist around the thickness.
I watched the scene with whimpers escaping me and liquid
dripping down my thighs.
"Does that get you wet?" He demanded to know, his rough
gravelly voice deepening "Knowing that I can only get hard
for you and only ever you? Knowing that it is only you that is
allowed to touch me? Knowing that I can only love and
worship you?"
He knew exactly what his words were doing to me.
I shimmied down the bike slightly so that I could angle my
hips and open my legs further.
That full smooth tip pressed up against my entrance and I
braced for the impact. I consciously reached upwards with
one hand and gripped the handlebar of the bike.
His pelvis rocked against mine and he nudged me slowly
and tauntingly.
"Tell me that you belong to me." He released gutturally from
his throat.
I loved his possessiveness. I loved him demanding and
taking control.
I would never tell him that, however.
Meeting his eye, I managed to suppress my moan and offer
him a challenging hum.
He glided the tip over my entrance over and over again.
Stone let out in a low seductive drawl "You are blushing,
Medusa."
"No. I am not."
His laughter was a husky deep sound. It travelled straight to
the burn between my legs.
Nothing could have prepared me for the savage first thrust.
With a gnarl, he dove into me and filled me as much as my
body could take.
The black irises glistened, and his pupils dilated as he took
in the view of my pleasure-filled expression.
"I will have to remind you who you belong to then." He
gritted out determinedly while allowing time for me to
adjust to his size "I will have to fuck you until you are unable
to move. Make sure you cannot leave me."
I was panting so loud that it filled the large room full of cars.
I held on tighter to the handrail of the bike as he started to
pick up the pace of his thrusts.
"I will have to fuck you so hard that you can only remember
my name. Make sure that you only ever think about me." He
growled, continuing to rut against me at an animalistic
speed.
He entered me like he owned the place. Like he owned me.
He was rising to my challenge and showing how much he
possessed me.
Nothing had ever felt so perfect.
My mouth was desperate to part as tears filled my vision at
the force of pleasure coursing through my body. Whimper
and whimper left my o-shaped mouth at the sensation of his
sex against mine.
Creaking noises came from the bike underneath me as I
received the pressure from the giant's merciless thrusts. The
whole mechanical machine shook underneath me as I held
on firmly to the handlebars.
I breathed out his name in the form of a whine as the force
exerting on my clit increased. His huge body pressed
between my thighs as he filled me to the hilt. I screamed at
the feeling of being impaled and feeling so connected to
him.
The image of me naked on his bike while he was pounding
into me roughly still fully clothed was enough to make me
tip over the edge.
"Stone." I gasped and then I gasped even louder "Stone."
All I could think about was him. All I could think about was
how perfect he felt inside of me.
My legs began to shake as my fourth orgasm rolled through
me. My little legs that dangled off the edge of the motorbike
wrapped around his waist so that I would not lose feeling in
them.
Every time he touched me, it was like he was doing it for the
first time. Every time he looked at me, it was like it was the
first of him seeing me. It was almost as if he was just
grateful, I was there.
His hands moved to my hips and moved my body so that I
was now sitting up. He continued to go at a vicious pace
while never letting his gaze drop from my face.
As well as legs wrapped around him, I moved my hands
around the back of his neck and held onto his broad
shoulders for dear life.
"Nobody can hear us." He grunted, moving the skull-
tattooed hand to cup my jaw "Scream for me, baby."
I did. Until my throat went sore.
The skull covered hand brushed hair behind my ear that had
stuck to my face as more wetness coated the most sensitive
part of me.
He held me as I came apart in his arms.
I would never get accustomed to how big he was. Even if we
were together for a million years, his hugeness would still
shock, terrify and excite me all at once.
The giant released gruffly "Will never be able to look at this
bike without thinking of my sexy little girlfriend."
I moved closer until I was hugging his large body. We were
still connected when I leaned in and dragged my hands into
his black hair.
"Am I your girlfriend?" I teased through my moans "Because
I don't remember you asking me."
His hands moved to my thighs as he moved me faster and
faster against him. I held on and rested my face against his
shoulder as he bounced me on his cock.
"Keep your eyes on me, Medusa." He growled out, unhappy
that he could not see my face.
I pulled back. I took in the sight of him watching me while
he pleasured my body. He was stunning like a dark
dangerous god. His bulky muscles were clenched. His eyes
were unearthly as they softened while continuing to keep
his full attention on me.
The euphoric feeling raced through me once again and I
watched as his expression filled with pleasure and love.
I pulled back and managed a lazy smile "Ask nicely and I
might consider being your girlfriend."
I loved challenging him. I loved poking the beast and
watching as it came out to devour me.
He moved out of me and then in again. Still erect. The body
two or three times bigger than my own pressed against me.
My jaw slackened and my chest bounced against his broad
middle at every one of his brutal thrusts.
"Mine. You are mine."  He gnarled, burying his face into my
hair "I am taking what is mine."
Every ounce of his overly huge figure was filled with
possessiveness. It was running through his blood and
strengthening him. He rubbed at my thighs soothingly while
he continued to show me who I belonged to.
"Your body. Your soul. Your heart." His deep voice grunted,
"Every perfect part of you is mine."
I let my head fall back as my eyes rolled in ecstasy. My
attention drifted away from him for a split second before he
tugged under my chin and made me look at him again.
The large veiny hands went back to my thigh and squeezed
as his huge sex organ pumped into me faster and rougher.
A contacting ripple went through my core as a strangled
ear-pitching noise left my mouth.
"Fuck." He cursed after leaving one kiss right on my nose
"You are mine."
"Yes. Yes. Yes." I told him in whimpers as I held onto him
even more tightly.
His hips bucked forwards and backwards desperately. He
kissed me all over my face as he continued to send me into
a land full of pleasure for the umpteenth time.
"Oh my god." I moaned "Oh my god."
"That is not my name, Drizella." He growled, angered by the
fact that it was not his name leaving my lips.
"Stone, fuck, Stone." I released, letting my forehead rest
against his "I am yours."
We were not conventional. We did not fit together. But we
made it work.
I palmed his back and wrapped my legs closer to him while I
whispered breathily "My boyfriend fucks me so good that
nothing else could compare."
A claiming roar left his mouth as he slammed into me
deeper than ever before.
His neck tendons looked ready to break and his veins went
so thick that I did not know where they started and ended.
"Fuck yes. He does." He grounded out in his deep masculine
throaty voice "I always leave my girl satisfied. Every fucking
time."
Sex was not just about pleasure. It was about love. It was
about trust. Both people are left vulnerable and bare. Both
need to give and take and revel in each other.
I stared into Stone's eyes. I never wanted to leave his sight.
This was the place I wanted to stay for the rest of my life.
Stars in the obsidian orbs and stars in my vision due to the
intense feeling became hard to tell apart. They were one
and the same now.
We were one.
Stone walked with my form in his arms to the next nearest
surface. He was still lodged deep inside of me when my
back touched the cold hard surface of the wall.
My shaky weak knees hugged his body and my back arched
off the wall in the need to be closer to him. I dug my nails
into his back as I felt the tears roll down my face.
I did not want it to end.
The hot vibrations grew to a rapid pace. His deep groaning
mixed with my screams made a perfect sympathy.
"Too good. Too good." I sobbed, my lip wobbling "I can't,
Stone, I can't."
Calloused palms cupped my cheek and wiped away the
tears of joy that ran down my face. He continued to do it
while uttering sweet yet dirty nothings to me.
I smiled at him, and he smiled back.
Valentine Stone was breath-taking.
"You are so beautiful, Drizella." He rasped out, his gaze
zoning in onto my face and capturing me.
He claimed me. Over and over again.
"I can't." I moaned again "Too good."
"One more." He commanded, his hand moving up and
resting on my neck "Want to turn you fucking limp."
He drove deep into me. Deeper and deeper. Then he
stopped. He stilled and then he shuddered violently with a
roar.
I writhed under his exhilarating attack. My string of screams
lingered in the air as he moaned gutturally against my
forehead.
He was filling all of me. My body. My mind. My heart. My
soul.
Stone was close. The spasms of my channel squeezed him
tight. The whimpers from my mouth were enough for him to
twitch rhythmically against my clit. My closeness left him
satisfied.
Our mouths met in a passionate war of tongues. Stone
dominated and controlled. He held my jaw and let his
hunger take over him like a territorial wild beast.
It was not merely physical. It was everything. The
connection was emotional and soulful and every single
tether in the world. Our hearts hammered against one
another. Our lips met and our bodies sighed with happiness
repeatedly.
He rocked into me one last time. He speared deep while
looking into my eyes. He growled my name when he
unlocked the piercing and searing pressure in both of us.
My screams turned to pants. His gnarls turned to kisses.
Our sweat-beaded foreheads met, and we both smiled. We
panted against each other and caught our breaths.
We had the best sex. Every time.
I slumped against him. I could not feel my legs or any other
part of my body. I relaxed into the large body because Stone
did not seem keen to let go.
He had entrapped me in his arms while walking over to
fetch a clean towel. He wiped at my thighs and between my
legs before leaving gentle kisses on my most sensitive
parts.
"I have got you." He breathed out, his fingers combing
through my hair soothingly "I have always got you."
The side of my face rested on his shoulder as I smiled "I
know."
His palms found my face and he forced me to look up at
him. I smiled up at him while moving my head so that I
could kiss one of his hands.
"I love you." He declared so easily and so strongly like he
was merely telling me that he needed oxygen to breathe.
Stretching up and leaving a small kiss on his jaw, I
whispered back instantaneously "I love you too."
A small grumble left his chest.
"What are you grumbling at now?" I giggled.
"Want a kiss." He grumbled again.
I shook my head at the insatiable man and pointed out
amusedly "We just kissed like five minutes ago."
He moved his arms so that they wrapped around my waist
possessively.
"It can be two seconds and I miss touching you, Medusa."
I kissed his jaw again and pulled back with a wink. He sent
me a playful scowl and my smile turned to a grin.
There was a healthy sex life in a relationship and then there
was us. We had a lot of sex. Maybe even too much. Both of
us were still new in our relationship but I had a gut feeling
that our need to be close would not ever fade away.
Maybe it was Stone's giant build. Maybe it was his strength.
Maybe it was his need to be touching me twenty-four-seven.
But he had an unearthly and unnatural amount of stamina.
"Always needing to be touching me." I tutted teasingly
before adding "What would you do without me?"
The large body stilled.
Gruffly from his throat, he rebutted "Where do you think you
are going?"
I rolled my eyes "It is a figure of speech and I know you
know that, smartass."
He buried his face into the crook of my neck and left a kiss
on the skin before he rasped out "I would destroy the whole
fucking world to get you back if you left. Nothing and
nobody could keep you away from me.
"Caveman." I muttered under my breath as a shiver shot up
my spine.
"Are you cold?" He demanded to know as he quickly moved
his head back to study me.
"Considering that I am naked, yes." I laughed as another
shiver travelled through me.
Stone moved quickly. He set me down on the ground before
removing his shirt. He then tapped my hips and motioned
for me to put my arms up. He placed his shirt on me and the
material fell to my knees.
His muscular arms opened, and I understood straight away
what he was wanting. I stood up on my toes and hugged his
middle. I rested my chin on his chest and looked up at him
as I embraced his bulky body in a hug. 
I had such a sore back. The cause was a mixture of the
rough attention Stone had shown me and the fact that I had
to stretch to merely reach his chest.
"I have a theory that UFO's orbit the area of the thing they
want to take." I voiced quietly to him "You are like my UFO.
Always lingering. Always ready to take."
"And you are my little alien." Stone chuckled before leaning
down and placing a kiss on the top of my head “I will follow
you to the end of the galaxy."
My cheeks hurt from smiling.
"So, Lurch," I asked randomly "Are you a boob or an ass
man?"
I was very curious because he always seemed to show
attention and worship every part of my body. He seemed to
favour every part of my skin.
"I am an Ella-man." The deep voice answere
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Three
The truck stopped at the last remaining space outside the
Lewis' house.
I recognised Brennan's white car in front that already beat
us there. Lana had phoned me about an hour before and
explained how she was invited. She did not seem in the
mood for a night with her boyfriend's parents, but she had
shown up.
They had fought earlier that day and the air between them
was awkward.
I had only met Mrs Lewis once, but I knew for certain that
she would pick up on the tension instantaneously. I also
knew she would notice the shift in Stone and me.
There was still playful fighting in our relationship, but it was
more of a fight to keep our eyes and hands off each other. It
was not a secret anymore. It was obvious by the stolen
kisses when nobody was watching, the brush off our hands
when we passed and the small smile and the softening of
his eyes when he looked at me. A contrast to his normal
grouchy face.
We both got out of the car. It was when I took my first foot
on the ground that he was already next to me and taking
my hand in his as we walked up the driveway.
I leaned into his side to get as much contact as I could
before I would have to behave in front of his parents.
Before we reached the front door, he wrapped his arms
around my waist and bent down in an attempt to kiss me.
"Nuh-uh." I tutted, reaching up and putting my hands on his
chest to stop him "I said no kissing until you went to see
your family and you have not been yet."
He tilted his head and chuckled before pointing out "So
what do you call yesterday, last night and this morning?"
I could not help smiling up at him while shrugging "I forgot
about my threat and made a little mistake."
"The same little mistake a couple of hundred times?"
To shut him up, I leaned on my toes and met him halfway.
Just as his mouth was about to meet mine, I then pulled
away and smiled evilly.
"I think I will just make you wait." I sang.
He frowned but I could see the amusement that he was
trying to hide "Let’s see how long you last."
Stone knocked on the door and the noise made me
remember the clattering around last night.
"Did you go somewhere last night?" I asked him before
mentioning "When I woke up during the night, you were not
in bed. I heard you walking around."
He faced the door for a few more seconds before glancing at
me sidewards "Brennan called."
I nodded once "Was it about Lana?"
"Yes." He answered directly before recovering himself with a
taunting smile "I think someone missed me in our bed last
night."
A giggle escaped me, but I shook my head "No way! Why
would I miss you?"
The taunting smile turned to a smirk on his face as he seen
right through my lies "So it was not you that climbed on top
of me the second I came back last night."
"Okay. I can admit that I like snuggling into you." I
confessed, "For someone with the coldest stare on the
planet, you are the most warm and toasty teddy bear to
cuddle into."
He shook his head and sent me a glare at the word teddy
bear.
"I would not have made that fuss about Pete the Second if I
knew I was getting you."
Stone smiled again and I could see all his perfect teeth. He
continued to watch my matching grin before bending down
and kissing the top of my head.
"Why did you knock on the door?" I questioned as I had only
just noticed that he had.
There was no reply from him.
"This is your home." I said to him softly before I asked again
"Why did you knock?"
His reply got lost in the air as the front door of the house
opened quickly and revealed a delighted Mrs Lewis who I
suspected had been watching us from the window a few
seconds ago 
She waved us in with a large smile on her face and once we
were both in the house and the door had closed, she
snatched me into a hug.
I quickly wrapped my arms around Mrs Lewis, and I noticed
that was still wearing her work uniform. A pair of blue
scrubs.
Mrs Lewis pulled back with a grin still in place as she cupped
my face and squeezed my cheeks "Ella, it is so good to see
you. I have been trying to get Stone to bring you here again
for a week now. I have also been trying to get him to bring
himself here."
Her tone had gone sterner at the end of her sentence, so I
found myself apologising "I am really sorry. It is kind of my
fault. He has been staying with me."
"Of course, it is not your fault, sweet girl." She said softly,
squeezing my face again "It is his. Do not get me wrong, I
was cheering when I found out that he was staying with you
but I thought he would at least come back to visit his old
folks."
The meddling Mrs Lewis was now scowling at Stone with her
arms on her waist and that led him to let out a small sorry.
"It is fine." She waved him off and her smile reappeared "As
long as you two are together now."
I let out a nervous laugh.
Mrs Lewis sighed as she pointed to Stone "Honestly if you
had left it any later to tell Ella that you loved her, I was
planning to do it myself."
The black eyes widened slightly like he had no clue that she
knew that he was in love or that she knew that he had told
me.
My eyes were wide too. If it was not for the hospital scrubs
that she had on, I would think that the woman was a
detective or behaviour analyst.
Her voice sounded all dreamy as she addressed Stone again
"Do not give me that look, boy. Someone as far away as
mars could see that you are crazy about her."
Stone did not look embarrassed. Not at all. He just let out a
single deep chuckle and looked over at me.
I was trying to hide my blushed cheeks with my hair. That
and to hide them from Mrs Lewis hands. 
"Thank you for having me again, Mrs Lewis." I said to her as
started walking down the hall.
"Ella, please call me Kelly." She said with a grin as she led
on in front "Or mom if you would like."
She left to turn into the room on the left. I was left
speechless. Stone looked amused at my expression as he
stood behind me and moved us both into the living room.
The room was on the smaller side, but it was cosy. The
wallpaper was teal coloured with flowery patterns swirling
across it. The two cream shaded sofas were already filled.
One by a gloomy-looking Brennan and Lana.
Lana and Brennan both smiled and sat up in their seat as
they saw us.
On the sofa opposite was Mrs Lewis who had just sat down
and Mr Lewis who was looking lovingly at his wife.
There were no seats left so Stone and I ended up sitting on
the floor. I was sitting right up close to him and his arm was
resting on the floor right behind my back. His fingers were
twitching like he wanted to move me. More specifically
manoeuvre me onto his lap.
He knew that I knew what he was wanting to do and sent a
smirk my way.
Before I tuned into the conversation between Mr Lewis and
Brennan, I mouthed to Stone "Behave."
Suddenly, Mrs Lewis shouted randomly "It is Lana and Ella's
first game night!"
"Game night?" I repeated quietly to Stone "If it is trivial
pursuit then I am going to kick your ass."
Stone shook his head and let out a deep laugh knowing that
he would definitely give me a run for my money.
Brennan instead answered "We play two truths and a lie
every week. It is a tradition."
"It is a fun way to try and get things out of the two boys." Mr
Lewis added "Kelly and I get told nothing."
"That is clever." I could not help but praise their parenting
techniques "What else do you do? Truth or Dare? Questions
such as truth, did you sneak out last night to a party? Or
dare, do your dirty laundry."
Everybody laughed and Mrs Lewis pointed my way "That is
such a good idea."
A groan comes from Brennan "Thanks a lot, Ella."
"You're welcome." I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Now I have to put up with another stupid game that might
result in myself having to do chores." Brennan replied,
"More of them now that you are keeping Stone in your lair."
Mrs Lewis went onto explain the concept of Two Truths and a
Lie like we had not all played it in middle school or high
school parties. She then insisted that Lana went first and
then it would go clockwise around the circle.
Lana thought for a while and then listed her two truths and
a lie "I can play the trombone. I can speak fluent french. My
grandmother's aunt's third cousin once removed was
Marilyn Monroe."
I kept quiet because I did not want to ruin the game. Lana
had the voice of an angel but her musical talents ended
there as she never bothered to learn an instrument.
"The third one was in too much depth to be a lie." Brennan's
mother said before guessing option one.
"Yeah. You are right." Lana confirmed in defeat.
Up next was Mr Lewis and he seemed prepared as he rattled
off his list "I can still do a perfect handstand. My mama gave
birth to me and my brother in a small liqueur store in
Nigeria. Finally, I completed my law degree at college in five
years."
The two other boys and Mrs Lewis kept quiet as they knew
the answer already. That left Lana and me to guess. Lana
shrugged her shoulders my way and left me to guess.
I thought about it then voiced "I think number three. Does it
not take at least seven years to do a law degree?"
"Number three is correct." Mr Lewis told me "But you are
wrong because I completed the degree in three years."
"That is very impressive." I sent a smile his way "You must
be a gifted lawyer."
Mr Lewis lost his happiness as he elaborated "That and I was
the only black man in a college full of rich white men. There
was a hurry for me to graduate."
"Baron, you are one of the most successful lawyers in the
state." Mrs Lewis interjected as she kissed her husband's
cheek "Excuse my language but all of those rich assholes
are bankrupt now."
The image of them made me feel happy. They both were so
in love with each other. I hoped I had what they had when I
was older.
Mrs Lewis said her list "I was once the leader of a choir in
my local church when I was a little girl. I fear Spiders. Last
one is that I lost my first kiss to a member of Iron Maiden."
"Iron maiden?" I sat up at her revelation "I really hope that
is true. That would be some story."
"You do not look scared of anything, Mrs Lewis." Lana said
with a smile "I will guess number two."
The older woman smiled "I can’t sing to save myself and I
never went to church when I was little."
"Iron maiden." I repeated with excitement in my tone "It
must have been great meeting them. Which one did you
kiss?"
"I will not say who because Baron gets annoyed when I say
his name." She glanced at her husband, laughing "I was
invited to the one of the band member’s funerals and my
loving husband went all caveman so I never went."
The married couple exchanged quiet words with love and
adoration in their eyes. I watched them in awe as Mr Lewis
reached over and kissed her lips gently. Mrs Lewis seemed
to remember where she was and that she had an audience
because she smiled at us shyly.
Brennan let out an exaggerated noise like he was throwing
up.
"Did you know that the boys in Iron Maiden liked their girls
feisty?" Mrs Lewis said to me as she winked in my direction
"Ella, you would have been their ideal girl."
Her suggestive face gave away that she was trying to wind
up Stone. That she was trying to get her revenge for him not
coming to visit.
As I wanted to keep my good impression and stay on Mrs
Lewis' good side, I played along "Looks like I need to go out
and buy an Ouija board to get in contact with them."
Stone's finger twitched against my skin, and I could feel his
hand on my back. It wrapped around my waist and pulled
me closer to him so that I was sitting in between his legs
and my back was up against his hard rock chest.
The giant leant down and whispered roughly into my ear
"Are you forgetting something?"
I turned around and smiled up at him innocently "I do not
think so."
A harsh breath and a deep drawl of three words was his
response "You are mine."
His reply sent flutters to my lower stomach, and I had the
urge to let him bring my body onto his lap.
I let out a laugh to indicate to him that I was just teasing
"Are you seriously getting jealous of a dead rock star, you
dork?"
Mrs Lewis sent another wink but that time it was to Stone.
He caught on that we were just trying to poke the beast
because he shook his head and grumbled under his breath.
The game resumed but Stone refused to take a turn. He said
that he was more interested in what I had to say. That
results in another nudge from my finger onto his chest at his
lack of participation. 
After coming up with no three good things to say, I listed
them aloud "When I was little, my parents entered me into a
child genius competition, and I came second. On a trip to
Egypt when I was ten, I got kicked out of The Valley of The
Kings because I shouted that Tutankhamun was going to rise
and that would lead to the aliens coming back for the
pyramid. Lastly, my favourite film is The Addams Family."
My last option which was one of the truths made Stone
smirk down at me.
He then got back to trying to guess the lie "Number one?"
"Why?" I asked.
His smile was taunting as he replied, "I do think you were
entered into a child genius competition but knowing you
then you would most likely came first."
There was a hum of agreement around the room. Except for
Lana who was smiling that they had all got it wrong.
"I did actually get second place in that competition." I
corrected them "The lie was the second one."
"But you went into so much detail that I thought that it had
to be true." Mr Lewis sighed.
"I did get kicked out of the Valley of the Kings," I replied
sheepishly "but it was because I threw my chocolate spread
sandwich at the hieroglyphics."
The room filled with laughter, and I could even feel Stone's
chest vibrate with a low chuckle.
Brennan glanced over at Lana who was not looking at him
before he listed his two truths and a lie "I have surfed a
wave bigger than twenty-five-foot wave. My favourite thing
to drink is milk. Finally..."
He trailed off and that is when Lana eventually turned her
head in his direction.
As he looked her straight in the eye, Brennan revealed his
third option "My girlfriend does not even like me."
It went silent.
Brennan's head dropped while Lana blinked while shifting
uncomfortably in her seat.
The silence dragged on.
That is why I randomly blurted out "Is it option number
two?"
Lana let out a small awkward laugh before she stood up.
She shot his parents a smile before she hurried out of the
room.
I did not think about it twice. I jumped up from my place on
the floor and did not look back as I followed her onto the
hallway.
The kitchen was the first place I stuck my head in to look for
where she had gone. Once I saw it was empty, I walked
down back in the direction of the front door.
She was sitting on the stairs with her head in her hands. Her
blonde hair was the only thing visible.
I joined her on the bottom step and pulled her into my side.
She immediately hugged back and let out a sob. Her head
popped up from being rested on my arm after a minute. Her
eyes were puffy, and she had snot running down her nose.
Wiping away her tears, I smiled at her reassuringly "Do you
want to talk about it?"
"I am just embarrassed." She admitted "Here I was thinking
that I would come tonight and be a good girlfriend. I would
show up and try to reconnect him."
"He is just hurt and confused." I tried to assure her that
there was no malice on his part "Brennan did not want to
humiliate you in front of his parents."
She wiped her fresh tears away "I feel like the bad guy. He is
right but I do not want him to be. Brennan is amazing. He is
funny and kind and considerate, but I do not love him."
I tightened my arms around her and moved her hair out of
her face
"I do not think I will ever be able to." She continued "We
both agreed that we do not feel a fraction of what you and
Stone feel for each other."
"You can’t compare your relationship to others. That is
where the trouble starts." I tried to sound sure of myself, but
I was not.
The truth was that I could not imagine anyone feeling
anything close to what I felt for Stone.
I kept my tone optimistic as I spoke again “If that is really
how you feel then you need to tell him. Maybe you can work
it out."
"Can we talk about something different?" She asked, fed up
with the conversation "How about your birthday?"
I repeated "My birthday?"
"Yeah. Your birthday." She said again before mentioning "I
already have you a small something, but I wanted to know if
you wanted anything else?"
"When is my birthday?" I asked, cluelessly.
Lana frowned "You do not remember when your birthday
is?"
"Of course, I do. It is the same date every year. It is also
Halloween so I cannot forget about it." I laughed at her "I
know the date. Just not the day."
"It is not this Friday but the next." She answered before
questioning "So what do you want for a present?"
"Nothing." I responded honestly "I want to keep it as lowkey
as possible. Let's just go and see a movie or something like
that."
She crossed her arms and made it clear that the cinema was
not an option
"What about what we had planned a few years ago?" Lana
mentioned, "We said that when we both turned nineteen, we
would try to sneak into nineteen different bars and sing
nineteen different karaoke songs and kiss nineteen different
guys."
My eighteenth was something similar except I only attended
eighteen bars and I only kissed eighteen guys.
"I think Stone might have something to say about the last
one." I commented, thinking about how he would react to
the news.
"Something to say?" Lana scoffed before giggling "The
morgue would get nineteen bodies that night."
I rolled my eyes "That is a bit dramatic."
"Actually, thinking about it," She corrected "Stone would
hunt down and kill every male in California before any
kissing happened."
"Well, it is a good thing I only want him then.” I joined in
with her laughter "He can get my nineteen kisses. More, if
he is lucky."
The light from her eyes was once again gone and she tried
to keep smiling.
At her expression, I brought my arm around her again "Why
don't I come over for a sleepover at yours and we eat our
own weight in gummy bears and watch The Notebook?"
"That sounds really good." She replied, sniffling "Are you
sure you do not want to go home with Stone?"
"Nothing has changed, Barbie." I assured her "If one of us is
upset then the other must make the excuse of period and
stomach cramps and then we both go home. We watch
cringey films and we stuff our faces with food. That is how
we work, and no guy could ever change that."
"Thank you, Freak Show" Lana laughed before motioning
down the hall at the two males who were coming our way "I
need to talk to Brennan."
I nodded once as the two guys approached abs, I pulled
myself away from Lana.
Meeting Stone's eye, I tilted my head towards up the stairs.
He nodded before he took my hand and led me up the stairs
while Brennan joined Lana on the steps.
His room was just as I remembered. One bed and a
bookshelf and not a lot else. It was plain and it made it
understandable why he wanted to sleep in my fairytale
green room.
Before the giant hands could get hold of me, ran out of his
grasp and jumped on his bed. I lay splat on my back like a
pancake while staring up at the ceiling.
Stone remained where he was against the doorframe. He
took up the whole space with his wide shoulders as he
watched me with a chuckle.
Moving around on the sheets, I hummed my question "What
do you think about while laying here at night?"
He moved towards means joined me on the bed. His hand
roamed down from my hips to my butt before he lifted me
and placed my body on top of his so that I was straddling
him.
"I am never here anymore but before all I thought about was
you." He rasped
"You will have to think of me here tonight." I took the
opportunity to tell him about the situation with Lana "I'm
sleeping over at Lana's."
He frowned up at me while putting a rogue piece of hair that
had fallen onto my face behind my ear. He studied my face
for a while before he moved his hands higher and higher.
Then he pulled me down so he could entrap my mouth with
his own.
My eyes fluttered shut as he moved his mouth onto mine.
The kiss was gentle yet incredibly hot. It felt inescapable like
I was melting into him. He was tempting me, and I was
letting him win because my hand reached and grabbed his
shoulders while my lips begged for his touch.
I pulled away and whispered, "I am not changing my mind,
Lurch."
Stone ran a finger along my swollen lips. He looked deeply
into my eyes, his darkened gaze penetrating me. His grip
became tighter like he had no intention of letting my body
leave from his side for a lifetime.
His kisses travelled down my jawline until his tongue comes
in contact with my neck. The heat and sensation left me
panting and fisting his shirt.
Pushing away and letting out a final involuntary moan, I
crossed my arms and sit up "I have to stay with Lana. She
needs me."
"I know." He nodded understandingly but heat me firmly on
his lap "I will just miss you."
"I will miss you too." I spoke back.
"I need you in my arms, Medusa." He let out lowly and
gruffly.
To distract myself from the desire to wrap my giant and I in
a cocoon for the night, I read all the titles on his bookshelf.
However, my admiration of the hardbacks ended just as it
had begun because I could feel him watching me.
"If you could go any place in the world, where would it be?"
He randomly asked in his husky voice.
The answer came straight to mind because it had been the
same answer since I was twelve years old.
"The Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Rio De Janeiro." I
answered before I started my rant "It is this old yet beautiful
library that looks like something from a Disney film. I have
always wanted to lay in the middle of the room and not care
about the stares from locals or other tourists. I would try to
steal an expensive book even if it was in a foreign language.
If I was found out, I would just run to a busy beach or I
would blend into some extravagant festival that was taking
place. I would—"
He cut off my description of my dream place and continues
it perfectly "You would sit in a small bar drinking a fancy
cocktail that had a cut open piece of exotic fruit for a glass.
You would have a room with a beach view. One that would
let you feel the sunrise from your bed when you woke up."
"That is freaky!" I exclaimed after he had finished "It is like
you have read my mind or..."
I stilled and I glared at his smirk.
"Oh no!" I shirked in horror "You found my blog that I had
when I was younger!"
Stone smiled evilly while staring up at my shocked
expression "Ella Explains Everything is the cutest name. It
did not take me long to find it."
"No." I groaned as I let my head fall onto his chest.
He kissed the top of my head before he continued to tease
me "My personal favourite post that young Ella wrote was
about your planned trip to the library in Brazil and your
theories about how little creatures guarded the books at
night."
My hands went to cover my face as he pulled me away from
his chest so that he could see me.
I let out a small huff of annoyance "Why do you make it your
mission to get me so riled up?"
"Same reason it has always been since the night I met you."
He stated before explaining "When you give it out to me,
your doe eyes go wider for a second and then your nose
crinkles. Then a beautiful blush covers your cheeks and
highlights your freckles even more. It is breathtaking."
I could not keep up my act of annoyance after that speech,
so I just cuddled into his chest again. His muscles arms
wrapped about my body instantly and kept me trained to
him.
A voice that was so soft yet so deep made my head move
up to see him as he cupped my face in his calloused hands.
"Meeting you was like going through the looking glass." He
revealed, "Nothing has been the same since."
"In a good way?" I whispered as I stared down at him.
"In the best fucking way."
Grinning, I poked his chest playfully "I know that you are the
Alice and Wonderland superfan, but I thought that phrase
was meant to describe the world around a person
changing."
Stone's lip twitched before his gravelly voice filled the room
"Drizella, you are my world."
"I still cannot get over how you like the Lewis Caroll book." I
admitted before I explained, "I never thought that you would
like crazy and whimsical."
Heat touched every part of my skin as his gaze trailed over
me.
"I love crazy." He said as his hands rested on the back of my
thighs "I love whimsical."
We stayed in the room for a further fifteen minutes, both
agreeing that Lana and Brennan needed more time to sort
things over. We were in our own little bubble for a significant
amount of time, yet it seemed not enough.
It was not our best idea to have such a heated fifteen
minutes in a house filled with other people and with me
leaving with Lana straight after it.
It left Stone with a problem. More accurately a huge
problem.
Leaving him in the room with a triumphing grin, I descended
the stairs and found Lana waiting.
She pointed to me as I approached her "Ella, what is that on
your neck?"
"A mosquito bite." I lied.
She bit her lip to stop smiling "It is massive."
"It was a large mosquito." I shrugged while covering my face
with my hair "A very large annoying mosquito."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Four
I had a theory that dreams revealed our truest desires. My
theory was heavily inspired by Freud's idea of wish
fulfilment, only there was a little less sex involved.
All my dreams recently had been about sex with Stone.
A warm mouth nuzzling into the side of my neck woke me
from my slumber.
I felt around for the large chest before I swatted gently with
my hand. I then let out a giggle as the face buried in my
neck nuzzled again.
"Medusa." The deep voice grumbled to complain "Wake up."
The bedsheets felt smooth against my bare legs. The large
black shirt that had belong to the giant encased me like a
warm hug. The position I was in was comfortable and had
me ready for a small nap.
"Stone, I am lazy." I swatted his chest again as I let out a
yawn "You are meant to love me for who I am."
His warm breath tickled my earlobe as he demanded with a
grumble "Open your eyes."
My mouth went up in a smile and I kept my eyes closed shut
as I huffed out "Why are you trying to wake me up?"
A few minutes of silence later, Stone eventually answered
"You have been sleeping for three hours and you won't be
able to get to sleep tonight."
I was going to make a comment about how he never let me
sleep at night but I decided against it. It would only stroke
his ego more about how long he was able to last.
Yawning, I opened my eyes and rolled onto my side. I
ignored the smirk of the man on my bed as I peered around
him at my alarm clock on the bedside cabinet.
"Lurch!" I exclaimed, "My nap has only been twelve minutes
long!"
"Twelve minutes too long." Stone grumbled under his
breath.
I laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling as I tried
to keep my smile hidden from him.
The man greedy for all of my time began leaving kisses
along my jaw and my neck as he uttered roughly "I missed
you."
"Tough." I giggled before closing my eyes and pretending to
sleep again.
A grumble of a noise shook the large chest close to my own
and I felt the dark pair of eyes drilling holes into my face.
Nothing happened for the first few minutes of me
pretending to sleep but I knew he was up to something.
Large, calloused hands made their way onto my hips as he
slid the shirt on my body up my waist. The big meaty hands
pulled at the material until my breasts were free and my
nipples had hardened at the cool air touching them.
When Stone realised, he could not get the shirt over my
head because I was lying down, he fisted the material with
his two hands and ripped it in half so that my body was on
display for him.
I had given him permission to wake me up in whatever way
he wanted. Which he seemed to take full advantage of as he
always woke me up by impaling me on his long thick waiting
length.
My eyes opened when I felt him grab one of my knees in
each of his hands. My loud gasp escaped my mouth when
he spread my legs apart, so they were wide and open for
him.
His head went straight towards the space between my
thighs.
The wide greedy tongue attacked my folds without warning,
and I let out a loud scream of pleasure and delight.
I felt his tongue at every part of my heated wetness. It went
hard and relentless and punishing. He sucked and licked at
my opening before he flicked his tongue over my clit.
Stone kept his thick fingers digging into the skin of my thigh
as he kept my legs wrenched open and as he kept on
ravaging my sensitive skin with his tongue.
His tongue licked again and again until I was delirious. This
time his devour of me continued over my pulsing clit. The
movement over the bundle of nerves had me moaning his
name.
The man feasting upon me groaned at the taste of me. He
began to consume and devastate me with a ferocity that
would have a wild beast resentful.
I moaned again when I peered down and seen his black hair
and his broad shoulders that were decorated with the
medusa tattoo between my legs.
My body shuddered with pure unadulterated ecstasy when
he wrapped his lips around my clit and grazed it with his
teeth. He then took the small bud into his mouth and sucked
on it like his life depended on it.
The hotness and roughness of his tongue circled my
hypersensitive nub and I felt like I was going to collapse. He
was the only thing keeping me from melting into a puddle
on the bed.
Ever so slowly, he moved his tongue downwards and then
with one coarse movement he was delving deep into my
bare core with his demanding mouth.
I let my hands move down to him and I gripped onto his hair
as I whined his name
I rolled my hips and shook against him as he played with my
clit.
His large voracious hands grabbed my ass and pulled me
further into his face. He lifted me higher and closer to his
mouth. It was like he was trying to get as much of me in his
mouth as he possibly could.
His tongue was relentless and vicious, and I knew that he
needed my orgasm just as much as I did.
Grunts and groans of approval gutturally released out of him
as he ate my pussy out like it was his last meal on earth.
I began to shake. My legs, my arms, my core, my heart and
my soul began to shake.
Stone increased the pressure of his tongue on my heat. He
dug his fingers into my hips to control my movements as I
tried grinding into his mouth.
The sensation made every cell in my body alight with fire
and shake with the power of a world-wide earthquake.
I threw my head back and cried out. I released the scream
that had lodged in my throat.
My head was back, and my legs were shaking. My mouth
was open, and my eyes were weeping with tears of
pleasure.
His licking ravaged again and again as I squeezed his ears
with my thighs and as I pulled harder at his hair.
He lapped and sucked slower. His movements grew steady
which helped me lower my dangerously high heart rate as I
came down from the state of nirvana.
The giant pulled back and licked the glistening liquid off his
lips as he sent me the sexiest stare I had ever seen.
He crawled on top of me and his mouth was on mine a
second later. His hand ventured into my hair as he attacked
my mouth with soft yet forceful kisses.
His cock dug into my belly. The length fighting to escape
from his black boxers was hard and thick and ready for me.
My chest panted as I studied the man I had fallen in love
with.
Valentine Stone was the kind of hot that should have been
illegal. His broad shoulders and his ripped eight-pack were a
symbol of his masculinity. His dark eyes and his predatory
smirk were examples of the heated animistic lust he was
fighting back.
He kissed me raw and hard. His tongue ventured inside of
my mouth and duelled with mine. His dominance took over
and he claimed me fully.
I laid bare for him as his kisses turned soft. I felt my breasts
grow heavier and my inner thighs grow so wet that the
sheets underneath me were damp.
I moved my hand to cup his stubbled jaw as I whispered to
him "I've never been this happy, Valentine."
The man smiled at me as he murmured "Neither have I,
Drizella."
His mouthed moved to my throat and he left kissed on the
ticklish part of my neck when he questioned "What were you
dreaming about?"
My smile turned sheepish as I met his eyes.
"Ella." He growled out in warning.
"I love the way you look at me."  I sat up on the bed and
moved away from as I fiddled with my hands and admitted
"I had a dream that you were chasing me and you pinned
me down and..."
Stone's dark eyes flicked over my face as his lip twitched
upwards.
I breathed out heavily "I had a dream I was your prey and
you caught me and made me yours."
My whole face went red. I moved the side of my face into
my shoulder as I avoided looking at him.
His hand moved out and caught me. He cupped my face
with both of his hands as he made me look up at him.
He leaned down and left a kiss on my nose before he pulled
back and growled "Run."
I blinked a few times before I muttered "W-What?"
"Run and hide." He repeated, his tone rough and ordering
"Because when I catch you, I'm going to devour you whole."
I kept eye-contact with him as I moved slowly. I got up from
the bed and made my way over to the door.
"Ten." Stone's voice had turned dark yet amused as he
began counting down "Nine."
There was no way I could get far from him. There was no
way I could leave the apartment naked and not end up
causing someone's death by Valentine Stone.
A cunning wicked plan formed in my mind that would taunt
the large man.
I was a genius.
I skipped into the bathroom and quietly shut the door
behind me. I bolted the lock on the bathroom door before I
quietly made my way to the bathtub.
My butt perched on the edge of the bathtub, and I threw one
leg over it so that I was straddling the white edge of the tub.
"Five...Four...Three," The deep voice sounded almost
irritated as he continued counting down "Two...One."
The loud strides of the large man thundered on the
floorboards of the hall as he hurried to find me.
I arched my back and began moving my hips so that the
inside of my thighs was rubbing against the edge of the
bath. I began riding the surface as I heard him grow closer
and closer to the other side of the bathroom door.
The bathroom door handle jiggled as the pounding of fists
began to hit the wood.
"Ella." The man growled from outside.
I let out an exaggerated moan as I began moving my hips
faster.
"Ella." Stone gutturally roared again at the noise as the door
shook again.
"You don't like it?" I called the taunt to him as I slipped one
of my fingers into my wetness "You don't like when I play
with myself for you."
A noise so deep and so ravenous made its way out of him
that made me doubt he was human.
The pressure built up in my stomach and my moans began
to turn real.
"I wish you were watching me." I whimpered loudly as my
finger sped up and began to circle my clit "I wish you were
seeing what I was doing to myself for you."
The bathroom door creaked with every pound of his fists.
"Let me in, Ella." He growled out like he was in pain "You
know nothing is allowed to touch you but me."
"Not even myself?" I whined as I continued drawing lazy
circles on my sensitive nub.
"No." He gnarled with the ferocity of a thousand lions "Not
even yourself."
"Yes." I moaned to argue as I began to rock my hips faster
"Yes. Yes. Yes."
"Fuck, baby. I hear your little finger slipping through your
pretty cunt." He clawed at the door as the dirty words left
him in a rough curse "Wait until I get my hands on you. Wait
until I fuck you hard again and again until you can't even
move."
I pulled my finger out of me and grinned evilly at the door
as I let out another exaggerated moan.
"Last chance." His growl was nothing short of furious "I am
warning you."
"Oh, Stone." I cried out as I tried to hold back my laughter
"I'm so wet that you could just slide right into me."
The door flew off its hinges and landed in front of me with a
bang.
My mouth dropped open and I wouldn't be surprised if my
jaw hit the floor.
Stone took up the whole space of the doorway. His chest
moved like a shifting mountain range as deep cavernous
noises left his mouth. His jaw was ticking, and his eyes were
so dark as they set their sights on me.
I removed myself from my straddling position on the bath
and stood up. I offered him a small wave and a bright smile.
"Sorry." I giggled out with a small shrug.
"That was the last time you ever touched yourself." He
growled out as his eyes met mine "The only person that
gets to touch your perfect little pussy is me."
He was in front of me in a matter of milliseconds. He was
pulling down and kicking off his boxers in the next.
My body was shaking with anticipation. My breasts felt
heavier and my arousal between my legs pooled even more.
The length that looked like it spanned miles between the
thick black hair at the base and the angry swollen tip was
thick and heavy. The balls were heavy too and the veins
were bulging out of the twitching cock.
His hands moved to my hips and moved my body so that I
was now hovering in the air. He lifted me up so that I was at
eye-level with him and so that my opening was resting
against the beginning of the long length.
As well as legs wrapped around him, I moved my hands
around the back of his neck and held onto his broad
shoulders.
The full smooth tip pressed up against my entrance and I
braced for the impact. I consciously reached onto his
shoulders and clutched onto him hard.
His pelvis rocked against mine and he nudged me slowly
and tauntingly. He glided the tip over my entrance
repeatedly.
His hands moved to my thighs as he moved me faster and
faster against the tip. I held on and rested my face against
his shoulder as he gilded the thick cockhead up and down
my folds.
I pulled back. I took in the sight of him watching me while
he pleasured my body.
He walked into the hallway with me in his arms and with me
moving my hips back and forward so that his tip was gliding
smoothly against my opening.
Stone groaned before he murmured in my ear "I need to get
you on that bed and fuck you hard, so you know never to
leave me again."
I whined "I'm not going to make it to bedroom."
Another gnarl shook his chest as we both rutted against
each other and fell to the floor. My back found the carpet of
the hallway as Stone carefully crawled on top of me.
A thick bulky arm belonging to him wrapped around my
waist before he flipped me over so that I was on all-fours.
I leaned on my knees and my forearms as I looked over my
shoulder and sent him a taunting smirk while I began
crawling away from him.
The noise that left him was furious as he grabbed my hips
and brought me back to him. His hands moved from my
waist to my ass as he palmed the cheeks and brought his
nose right up to the hole between my legs.
"You smell so fucking good." He released gutturally as he
rubbed his nose up and down and coated himself in my
wetness.
I whined at the feeling of his hot breath on my wet lips.
He snapped his teeth near the apex of my thighs as he
released out ferally "Mine."
I bit my lip and closed my eyes in ecstasy before I shot him
another teasing smirk and began trying to crawl away from
him again.
Stone grabbed my thighs and brought me back to him as he
let out gutturally "It looks like I have captured my prey."
I applied more pressure to my knees as I spread my legs
further and showed him how wet I was for him.
"I think it's time for me to enjoy my prey, don't you?" He
questioned rhetorically with a dark chuckle "I think it's time I
enjoy my little prize."
"Yes." I moaned out as I felt his hand near my ass "Yes."
He ran his finger down my pussy slit. He stopped when he
reached my hole and then he shoved that thick finger right
into my wet heat.
My muscles clamped down on his digit as he moved his
mouth to my right asscheek.
Stone took the skin of my ass between his teeth as he bit
down gently.
It was the kind of pain that was pleasurable. I knew it would
leave a mark and I was glad.
He was showing me who I belonged to.
"You cannot imagine what the taste of you does to me,
Drizella." He rasped out with every single ounce in him "It
turns me into some sort of beast."
"I know." I cried in pleasure "It's so sexy."
"I'm going to have my dick in in here." He stated as he
began pumping one thick finger in and out of me "I'm going
to fill you with my come and make you mine then when it
runs down your leg, I'm going to slide it back inside of you."
I could not help the sound that left me.
He pulled his finger out and immediately lifted it to his
mouth to suck the glossiness from it.
"So fucking good." He growled out in praise "I could live off
the taste of you."
I turned my head to the side and looked over my shoulder
back at him.
"You want a madman, do you?" He gnarled out the question
as he held onto my hip with one hand and aligned the tip of
his dick at my entrance with the other "You want to drive me
insane?"
A whimper left me at the feeling of his thick cockhead right
at my hole.
"Please." I pleaded with him "Please, Stone."
"You test my limits." He mentioned with a groan as he
began to press inside of me "You test my sanity."
He used his knee to nudge my legs apart even further and
then he was pushing into me with a slow but thorough
thrust.
Stone rumbled out in praise "You are doing so well, my
beautiful little prey."
My eyes momentarily closed as I moaned the question "How
long are you going to keep me for?"
The question had done nothing to settle the beast raging
inside of him.
His expression darkened further, and he let out a low sound
before he shoved every single inch of himself inside of me in
a forceful thrust.
My head tipped back, and a strangled scream left my throat.
"You think I will ever let you go?" He chuckled humourlessly.
I was filled completely. I was stretched to the point where I
felt like I was being split in half. I was stuffed full of him so
much that I felt like my guts were being rearranged. I was
being ruined in the most beautiful way.
The crude, desperate thrusts of his enormous shaft deep
inside me were in harmony with the deep animalistic noises
that left his chest "I would burn the world down if you ever
tried to leave me."
Stone started fucking me with long yet quick desperate
strokes. He shoved himself to the hilt inside of me over and
over again.
My inner muscles clenched around his length, and he
grunted while picking up his speed and intensity.
He let go of my waist and spread my ass cheeks wide so
that he could see his cock moving in and out of me.
The angle of everything was so tortuous and perfect. I felt
him in my throat.
It was as if the giant had been possessed by an animal that
belonged to the top of the food chain. He held my hips
possessively while he dove into me again and again and
again.
"Fucking hell, baby." He uttered roughly as he picked up
speed and slammed harder into me. "Your cunt is so fucking
tight and wet and hot."
The words were enough to tip me over the edge.
I whined his name as I felt my release shake my body.
"You are so primed for me." He uttered as he bent down and
left a kiss on my back "You were made for me."
He went savage. He went like wild when he moved against
me. He growled and groaned and told me how much I was
his as he did so.
His dick worked inside of me in long deep strokes and I
reached forward and held onto the carpet until my knuckles
turned white.
"Keep your eyes on me." He barked to order me.
I bit my lip and looked over my shoulder back at him.
The dark eyes were glazed and his heavy lids dropped as he
grumbled "You want to watch as I rut you like an animal?"
Nothing left my mouth. All I could do was nod.
He continued to thrust into me with a pace that was
inhumane and ruthless. It was brutal and savage.
"You want to come?" He growled out as he pulled out so the
tip was at my entrance again.
I nodded again as I was unable to form a coherent word.
"Come all over my cock like a good girl." He ordered of me,
his tone demanding and desperate "Keep your legs open
and let me take care of you."
I screamed his name as the unrelenting thrumming inside of
me burst and I let myself go all over him. I was swallowed in
the sensation.
I was drowning in the pleasure and Stone never stopped
once.
He thrust back in so powerfully that I jolted forward.
He drove deep into me. Deeper and deeper. He stopped
tauntingly and then started again.
I let my head fall back as my eyes rolled in ecstasy. My
attention drifted away from him for a split second before he
tugged under my chin and made me look at him again.
"I will never let you leave me. I will give you anything and
everything you want but never freedom from me." He
uttered with determination as he continued his long
barbarous stokes "You will have to kill me to be free of me."
Tears of pure happiness and pleasure fell from my eyes as I
tipped my head back and mewled "I love it. Don't stop."
"Never run from me again." He bellowed as his clutch on my
hips tightened "I will murder anyone that tries to take you
from me."
"Yes, I'm yours." I said in a rush as I looked back and met his
eyes "You own every part of me."
Like a predator who has been waiting for the right moment
to capture his prey, Stone's muscled arm shot out and took
ahold of my hip. He dragged my body up so that my back
was against his chest and so that my knees rested on the
floor. He never stopped thrusting into me as he did so.
His obsession and possessiveness radiated from every inch
of his body. His erection jutted crudely in and out of my
spread legs and his words were so dirty and needy.
I had already been claimed by this man and I planned to
stay that way my whole life.
One savage drive of his hips and he was buried to the root.
A scream left me because no matter how many times I had
him inside of me, his largeness still took my breath away.
"Stone." I wailed as I tipped my head back and rested my
head against his bulky chest "Stone."
I tipped my chin back and he looked down at me as my
fourth orgasm rocked through me.
Right before the high left me, Stone pulled out of me and
turned me around. He placed me back on the floor with my
back on the carpet.
Stone reached between us and gripped my thighs and
pulled them open. He placed his cock back at my entrance.
He then shoved into me hard as I arched my back and
whimpered his name.
I opened my mouth on a silent cry at the feeling of being so
filled and stretched. I was so tender and sore I knew I would
feel him in me even when he was not inside inside of me.
He was breathing hard now, his massive chest rising and
falling as he rolled his hips into me.
"I am going to devour you, my beautiful girl." He remarked
as the sounds of skin slamming against skin filled the
hallway "I am going to fill every inch of you."
"Yes," I found myself whispering.
The strong muscles and the tendons that were laced and
bulging under his skin made me feel so feminine. His
strength made me feel so small and so cared for.
The thick crest of his cock pressed against my pussy hole
again and he paused for a second. He was taunting me.
That or he was struggling with holding back the last
remaining string of control he had.
I gasped at how forceful his thrusts were and how my whole
body was edging further along the carpet.
Stone pounded onto me in a snarling frenzy as he
descended over me again and again. His giant body bared
down on me with unrestrained force.
I threw my head back and panted, my chest moving up and
down erratically.
"Look at me." Stone ordered, his voice was deep and
commanding "I want you to watch while I slam my cock into
you."
It was like everything around me faded until there was only
this one moment in time.
"I want you to watch as I make you mine." He grumbled out
as he slowly pulled out of me.
I watched his cock become visible and I noticed how my
cream coated his thickness. Stone admired the mixture of
both of us before he pushed back inside of me.
"Yes." I whimpered "Please."
The man above me closed his eyes and groaned "Need to
come in your little pussy."
"It is yours." I gasped as the force of his thrusts drove me
along the carpet more "Come inside me as deep as you
want."
The veins in his arm bulge as placed his hands on the floor
at either side of my head and descended down on me. His
movements had turned ruthless and reckless.
I moaned louder than I ever had before. It was half a moan
and half a scream.
A growl of possession erupted from deep inside him as he
buried himself inside of me and stilled.
His flesh pulsed and jerked as a sticky warmth flooded into
me.
"Mine." He buried his face into my neck and murmured "No
one touches you but me."
"No one." I agreed "Just you."
Sweat coated both our skins as Stone cuddled into me and
nuzzled his nose against the skin of my throat.
He pulled back to look at me. His usually dark eyes were a
lighter obsidian colour as he stared down at me in awe.
"Ella."
"Stone." I whispered, opening my arms and hitting for him
to snuggle into me "Stay with me?"
"Yes." He uttered lowly and roughly "Always."
I wrapped my arms behind his neck and pulled him to me. I
let my hands roam through his hair as I pressed a kiss to his
forehead.
"I will love you and protect you until the end of time." He
told me as if it was the only truth he knew "You are my girl,
my obsession and my whole heart. I love you in a way they
haven't invented yet and in way others find impossible."
"I love you too." I said back before adding sheepishly "I also
can't feel my legs."
He smiled it me. It was a large devastating smile.
His mouth moved to my ear and the warm breath tickled my
earlobe as he chuckled "I'm taking you on every surface of
this apartment. Then I am going to buy every apartment in
this building so I can fuck you there too."
We were happy and we were in love. We surrounded
ourselves with each other because we could not live without
one another.
I pulled back and frowned as I pointed up at him and said,
"You are fixing that bathroom door!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Five
The bell rang and indicated the end of the day. Mr
Dankworth wrapped up the lesson as everyone in the
classroom gathered up their stuff and got ready to leave.
Just as the first person reached the door, the old English
teacher called to the class "Remember that your paired
essays are due. They were meant to be in for tomorrow, but
I know all of you are excited for The Fall Ball so submit your
essays online by Saturday please."
The Fall Ball had been the talk of the school, but it was not
the only one. Travelling through the halls of Leavendale high
was the excitement for the beach fight club or what they
liked to call Litora Bello.
I had not spoken to Chase, and he was the only one that
spoke about it to me, so I never knew a lot about the
upcoming fighting event. I do however know it was a big
one. I heard one guy in biology say it was the semi-finals or
something along those lines.
Lana and Brennan walked in front. They had both decided to
work through things, but they planned to do that slowly.
Stone and I walked out of the classroom last because I
wanted to give Mr Dankworth one of his books back. The old
man only thanked me and exchanged it for another.
Mr Dankworth's mood had been more jovial than normal. I
had a suspicion that it had something to do with the
gigantic male that had his muscular arm around my waist.
The halls were crowded and noisy and that is why Stone
leaned in to say "Getting another book from your teacher.
You are such a nerd."
"The pot calling the kettle black." I nudged him in the
stomach "Do not think I will let you borrow the book after I
am done with it."
From a few meters in front, Lana turned around and her
expression was filled with fear "Did you know people are
already applying for college?"
"Applications usually do need to be handed in by Christmas"
I tried to break the news gently.
"How could people have applied already?" She moaned in
frustration "It has not even been Halloween yet."
I joined Lana as I walked next to her down the corridor, so I
did not have to shout "Do not stress. You have plenty of
time. I thought you had your heart certain on UCLA and the
music programme there."
A weak nod was her reply before she looked to the boys
"Have you applied yet?"
"I am not planning on going to college. I do not need any
further qualifications to get into training for a surfing
instructor." Brennan replied before sharing a look with the
larger guy who was looking at me "Stone is already a fully
qualified mechanic. He is not going either."
Lana nodded then turned my way "Have you?"
I offered a shrug "I am going to apply to a few and keep my
options open."
"What about your dream?" She countered back with.
"Yes. A dream. That is all that it was." I voiced, knowing
what she was talking about.
Stone interjected while peering down at me "What was your
dream?"
"It is nothing and it is stupid." I waved it off.
Tutting, my best friend elaborated "Since she was five years
old, it has been Ella's dream to go Harvard and study
English literature."
"I do not care that much about it."
Lana rebutted "I even have a photo of five-year-old her with
a jumper on that has the Harvard logo on it."
"You do?" I asked, unconvinced that she did.
She did not answer me and instead, she spoke to Stone
while getting out her phone from her bag "Do you want to
see it?"
Stone nodded at her before sending a smirk my way.
Lana turned her phone, so the screen was facing in our
direction. To my absolute horror, it was a picture of five-
year-old me. The picture was of me on a park swing with my
Harvard logo sweatshirt and my two missing front teethed
smile.
Mortified, I bit out "Why do you even have that?"
"Cute." Stone's rough voice said against my ear as he
leaned down to tease me.
"Shut up." I uttered before addressing Brennan "Do you
have any baby photos of Stone?"
"No." Brennan laughed "Why would I?"
I pointed accusingly at him "You are no use to me."
Brennan started a conversation with his maybe-girlfriend
when Stone's large hands rested on my hips.
The giant made me face him as he told me gruffly "You need
to apply to Harvard."
My head shook at his words "I cannot do that."
He frowned "Why not?"
"There are a million reasons." I stated before I began to list
them "The acceptance rates are staggeringly low. Like under
twenty percent and that is for people in wealthy areas and
private schools. Then the English course is two point
something percent acceptance. That is crazy—"
"And you are crazy smart." Stone cut me off in a tone that
sounded so stern that it left no room for argument "Apply."
Crossing my arms, my bottom lip went over my top in an
almost pout "Not happening, Lurch."
He scowled and I almost let out a laugh at his scary he
looked.
"I have as much chance of getting into Harvard as you have
of fitting through a cat flap." I told him as I smiled up at the
grumpy face.
"You are the smartest person I know." He uttered
determinedly "They would be fucking idiots not to want
you."
Jumping up, I put my hand on his forehead for a split second
before grinning "Now I have only read two medical books in
my life, and I am in no way a professional, but I think you
are lovesick."
Stone chuckled. He shook his head at my silliness, but he
did not deny it.
Brennan butted in as he sent Stone a smirk "I think if we
called mom for a professional perspective then she would
agree with Ella's diagnosis."
The four of us said our goodbyes before Stone and I walked
in the opposite direction across the parking lot.
He took my hand and led me to his motorbike but before I
could put on the small green helmet that he had bought me
a few days ago, he lifted me up and put his lips on mine to
show me how much he had missed me.
Image
I crossed my legs on the sofa as I continued to bash the
keyboard of my laptop in an attempt to finish my essay.
The trouble with getting it finished was due to the fact that I
always seemed to write something a little too personal for a
personal essay about Stone.
I had given up trying to hide what I was writing from the
unfaltering gaze of the guy who was next to me.
In my peripheral vision, I saw a small smirk from Stone as
he pointed to the computer screen and voiced "I like that
line."
"Everyone exaggerates in their essays. None of the good
things I am writing about you are not true." I replied as I
tried to cover my smile "Are you not working on your
paper?"
"I finished mine a week ago."
I stopped typing and I peered over at him while sending him
a taunting smile "That is because you have a much more
interesting subject to talk about."
"That I do." He chuckled "Although you seem to be getting
on fine. You are nearly finished writing about me."
"I would have had mine done sooner," I stated before
accusing "If it were not for you distracting me."
I heard his husky laugh while I saved my work and exited
the page. I was about to go off the programme when he
stopped me by putting his hand on mine.
Following where it looked like he is reading, I noticed the
document titled Untitled Book.
"Did you write a book?" He asked as he loved his attention
to me "I thought you said you had not."
Twirling a strand of my hair, I stared down at the pattern of
the sofa while speaking "I wrote a few chapters, and it was
not very good. I was always meant to go back and finish it
but I guess I never got the chance to."
His lip moved up in a small teasing smile "Can I read it?"
"No way!" I exclaimed before manoeuvring the laptop
further away from him.
Stone laughed at my flustered face, but he questioned while
sounding intrigued "What is it about?"
"It is a sci-fi story about the nature of humans." I told him
"An idea just came into my head a year ago and I wrote
down the first chapter and a few ideas. It was meant to be a
futuristic social experiment kind of book. Think Lord Of The
Flies with UFO's."
He was studying me as I spoke and listening intently like he
did not want to miss a word.
Then he offered a response "I need to read it, Drizella"
"No!"
I glared at him and he glared right back. I deduced that he
was not going to give up so I handed him the lap
begrudgingly
"Fine. There you go." I said with a sigh "If you laugh then I
will take that pillow behind your back and suffocate you."
Clicking on the file, he started reading eagerly and a smile
lit up his striking face. I, on the other hand just sat while
fidgeting with a piece of thread loose from the sofa.
Deciding that I could not stay and wait for him to read the
book, I announced “I am hungry. I am going to make toast.
Do you want some?"
A nod was all I got because he was too busy glued to the
screen like the words had put a spell on him.
I stomped through to the kitchen, annoyed at myself for
letting him read it. It had been a year since I wrote the
chapter, and I could not remember exactly what I had
written. It could be complete trash. I expected his taunting
laugh to fill the small apartment in no time at all.
However, it was silent as I took out the bread and placed
two bits into the toaster.
In my opinion, toasters were too advanced because the
toast was ready in no time at all. It meant that I was closer
to facing the humiliation and facing Stone.
I took out the jam and spread it over my piece like it was
going to be hung on the Louvre. I coated the same area
three times to kill some time.
Muscular arms snaked around my waist as Stone pressed up
behind me. He leant down and nuzzled his face into my
neck.
A shiver travelled down the length of my spine as his deep
voice reverberated against my earlobe.
"Turns out that my girlfriend is one hell of a talented writer."
He spoke.
"You are just saying that." I laughed nervously while licking
the jam of my finger "It was one chapter. It is nothing."
"The way you describe things is beautiful, Medusa." He
rasped out "You have a way with words. I do not think you
even need college. I do not think you need to get any
better."
Embracing his warmth, I let my neck fall back so I could see
him as I spoke "What are you after, you flatterer?"
"Does writing make you happy?" He asked, ignoring my
question.
"Yes."
He smiled at me "Then I want you to finish it."
"Thank you for believing in me" I said gratefully before I
grabbed both plates and handed one to him "Here. Now,
let’s go watch a movie."
"Addams Family?"
"Addams Family" I confirmed while matching his grin.
He went through and set up the movie while I sat down and
tucked into my toast which was way too sickly. The jam
needed a shovel to be taken off. I munch away at the food
as I got myself comfortable on the sofa.
Stone joined me after he was done with the TV. He lifted my
legs and then sat down to place them back where they were
but now, I was resting on him.
As the opening credits appeared, he was more interested in
laughing at my sparkly galaxy socks that read cutest in the
galaxy.
"So why is this your favourite movie?" He questioned in an
amused tone.
"The witty dialogue, the spooky aesthetic of the movie,
countless other things and not at all because it reminds me
of someone." I teased while inwardly grinning wickedly
"Why did you like it when you first watched it, Lurch?"
Avoiding my eye for a second or two, he then met my gaze
and admitted "I had never heard of it until you mentioned it
the night we met."
"Really?" I said while acting clueless.
"I watched it the same night." He lowly confessed before
grumbling "So fucking whipped."
The last bit of his sentence was quiet, and I did not think I
was meant to have heard it.
I found it so cute that he was shy. I found it really endearing
that he chose to open up to me so much.
He was staring at me intently and that is when I realised
that It should have been a shock to me. I covered my mouth
and gasped. It was no Oscar-winning performance, and
anyone could have seen that I was faking my surprise.
Stone sent a glare my way, but I could see a hint of
amusement "You already knew that, didn't you?"
"No." I replied sweetly, shaking my head violently.
His death glare continued before his attention went back to
the screen. He acted like he was unhappy as he kept his
eyes firmly on the television. It did not last long as he caved
after thirty seconds. He grabbed my foot and pulled me onto
his lap. His arms wrapped around my body instantly.
I poked his chest to wind him up further, but I could not help
but grin up at him "You look like this big scary tough guy,
but you are secretly just a big softie."
"Only for you." He spoke, his voice dropping an octave.
After the conversation, it felt unfair that he had confessed
something, and I had not so I decided to even out the
playing field.
"I was attracted to you instantly. Like as soon as I met you."
I said as I rested the side of my face on his chest "It was
actually kind of terrifying."
"I know you were."
Crossing my arms, I stumbled over my words "But...but I
thought I hid it so well?"
"You did."
At his light and totally not serious tone, I elaborated on my
original statement "Then you called my hair sick coloured
and I wanted to kiss you and kill you at the same time. After
then what I had to do was remind myself of all the stuff I did
not like about you, so I did not end up liking you more."
"Like what?" He chuckled "What do you not like about me?"
I gave an example "Nobody can annoy me like you. You
know exactly what to say or do to push my buttons. I love
yet hate how you know me better than anyone else. You
know me better than I know myself. I also love and hate how
competitive I get when I think that you might beat me at
something. It used to scare me how you were my match in
every way."
He left a kiss on my collarbone "What else?"
"Well..." My mind went blank, and I muttered out lamely
"Nothing is coming to me. Give me a minute."
"Do you want to know what I dislike about you?" He asked
but as he gazed down at me it was not dislike present in his
eye.
"What do you mean?" I stuck out my tongue "I am perfect."
"You are my first thought when I wake up and before I fall
asleep and every second in between. I love it but it is hard
to get anything done when I am too busy thinking about
what you are doing." He professed while staring softly down
at me while he played with my hair "Also you sleep too long
in the mornings. I wake up early and you are still sleeping.
Even if you are in my arms, I miss you speaking to me. So,
when you are still laying asleep in the morning, I try to wake
you up so you will talk to me, but you do not budge."
I was speechless. I stared up at the giant with a dropped
jaw.
"I think you would sleep through a hurricane." He
mentioned.
"What time do you get up at in the mornings usually?" I
curiously questioned.
"Six."
"I was going to compromise my sleep time but there is no
way I am getting up at six a.m." I said in faux horror before
asking "What do you do in the mornings before I wake up?"
"Work out." He replied.
"You work out here?" I replied in disbelief.
I would definitely get up at six in the morning to see that.
What a sight that would be to wake up to.
He nodded and explained, "Just sit ups and push ups."
"Why? It is not like you need to get any bigger." I pointed to
his hugely built body "You are already unbelievably ripped."
Stone laughed and pulled me closer into his unbelievably
ripped chest while he stared down at me.
Something came to mind, so I shared it to him with delight
in my voice "I just remembered something that I dislike
about you."
His eyebrow raised as he watched me grin.
"You do not put anything on your toast." I motioned to his
plate with the plain toast "No butter or jam or anything.
What kind of mutant does that?"
"That is your only big dislike about me?" He taunted and he
looked too pleased with himself.
Rolling my eyes and taking another bite of my toast, I
looked back at the Lurch on screen "There is plenty more. I
just do not want to hurt your feelings."
It looked like he was leaning in to kiss me and that is when I
see my chance. I reached for my plate and swiped some jam
onto my finger. Just when his lips were about to meet mine, I
wiped the jam on his nose down to his cheek.
He pulled back. Only slightly but it was enough space so I
could jump off his lap with a giggle and admire my work.
His smirk was predatory as he chuckled darkly "You have
three seconds to run."
I did not linger. I bolted out of the living room and into the
hallway like a bat out of hell.
I knew there was no use. Three of my steps were equal to
one of his. He did not waste any time before catching me.
He took one step forward and I took one step back. I was
being backed into a corner. Eventually, our steps came to an
end as I was caged between him and the wall.
His body was pressed right up against mine. It made me
lean my head back against the wall to see him. He towered
over my trapped from with a smirk.
That was until he brought his mouth down onto mine and
punished me with sweet torturous kisses.
A low groan escaped from his chest, and it had to have been
the sexiest sound I had ever heard.
Stone was kissing the life out of me. He grabbed my butt
and lifted me up and onto him so that my legs had wrapped
around his middle.
I was never planning to stop bickering with him. Especially
when the reward was his mouth on mine.
I always compared everything to something else. It was just
how I learned to understand the world around me, but I had
no comparison for him. He was everything.
Something vibrated against my foot, so I pulled away and
looked down at the pocket in his jeans. His phone was lit up
with a call. I did not get the chance to read who it was
because Stone grabbed it.
He let out a deep sigh of frustration before he picked it up.
I was about to climb down from him, but he tightened his
hold on me.
His greeting to the person on the phone was complete
silence. He said nothing and listened before he offered a
sentence "I will come and pick it up now."
My body was placed on the ground as he hung up the phone
and put it back into his jean pocket.
I tilted my head at him in question about what he was
doing.
His mouth went back on mine for a quick kiss before he half-
explained "I need to go and pick up something from work. I
will be half an hour."
I nodded and offered him a small smile to hide my
disappointment "It is fine. I need to proofread my essay and
then I might have a bath. My back is still really sore from
sleeping on Lana's floor all night."
He kissed the top of my head before he left.
I went back through to the sofa and spent some time editing
my essay. After I was happy with my work and made sure
that none of the details would give Mr Dankworth a heart
attack, I submitted it online.
With relief that the essay was finished and I had it done by
the deadline, I skipped through to my room and cleaned the
place up a bit. My messy book piles became a slightly more
organised messy book pile. After twenty minutes of cleaning
in the loosest term of the word, I stripped my clothes off and
grabbed a towel before heading to the bathroom.
As soon as the bathtub was filled and the bubbles nearly
reached the top, I climbed in and emerged my whole body
including my face into the water. The warmth made my eyes
close and for a matter of a few minutes, I felt relaxed.
That was until the knock on the door.
Stone walked in and noticed me in the tub. He made his way
into the middle of the bathroom, and he sat down next to
the tub. Even when he was sitting down at a lower level
than I was, he was still much taller.
I was not embarrassed. I had a layer of bubbles covering my
body and it was not like he had not seen everything already.
He had. Countless times.
Yet the way he looked at me was like he had not. Every time
he saw me his pupils would dilate, and his face would fill
with wonder like it was the very first time he was seeing me
bare.
I smiled at him as I slid further down the bathtub "Hi Lurch."
"Hi Medusa." He greeted as he leaned against the edge of
the white tub.
"You are not joining me in here." I told him sternly as I
interpreted his eyes flicking over the bathtub as him
measuring the thing against his size.
"Why not?" He grumbled in his rough voice.
"You are too big." I stated the obvious "You will break it."
He shook his head unhappily before he spoke again "You
know when I imagined you in a bath, I always seen you with
a book in hand."
"Have you been thinking about me naked?" I teased him
before explaining "I would love to read in the bath, but I
always have a fear that I will get my book wet. I might need
to invest in some audiobooks."
Stone stayed quiet and then he abruptly stood up. He
walked out of the room before I could even ask him where
he was going.
His hands held a book as he came back through to the
bathroom minutes later. It was only when he sat down that I
noticed that it was one of my books.
"What are you doing?" I asked as I swirled around in the
bubbles
While opening the book and looking for my bookmark, he
answered "I will read to you."
"I think I wrote a theory along the lines of when a guy sees a
girl in the bath and sticks around then he must really like
her." I mentioned as I watched him intently.
"You did." He chuckled, peering up from the book.
Crossing my arms and kicking a big pile of bubbles with my
foot so it hit his chest, I tried to sneer at him "Did you read
every post on my stupid blog?"
"Yes."
"Once I have figured out my password, I am deleting all of
them." I mumbled to myself.
"I have got photos."
Setting my hands on the edge of the tub and leaning my
chin on them so I was closer, I laughed loudly "The only
reason I am not splashing you right now is because you are
holding my book."
He started to read the book. He read and read, and he did
not stop. Occasionally he would steal a few glances at me
while reading aloud my favourite lines from the book.
I did not think I would ever be able to read a book by myself
again. Or any other book. His deep masculine voice added a
whole new feeling to what I had for the book. It was mind-
blowingly sensual.
Stone continued to read until the water turned lukewarm. I
never took my eyes off him once.
That was due to three reasons. One because he brought a
whole new meaning to the word drop-dead gorgeous. In a
dark ethereal way. Two, his voice sent a ripple of
goosebumps through my body, and I swore the water
surrounding me heated up. Reason three was that I loved
him.
"I love you even more than I am annoyed by you. Which is
an immeasurable amount." I voiced once he had stopped
reading.
He took a deep breath. One that sounded of satisfaction at
my words. He put my book down on the floor before he
reached for me.
I happily sat up and let him glide me so that I was leaning
over the side of the tub. He moved so that he was on his
knees, and he could hold me.
His arms pulled me in so that I was against his chest. He did
not care that I was wet. He only cared that I was touching
him.
I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and smiled.
A matching smile had appeared on his face.
I had learned over the course of my time with him that his
mouth never gave much away. His happiness was mostly
visible in his eyes. The obsidian colour grew, and you could
see every detail in them like little stars when he was joyful.
"I love you more." He said, his eyes a galaxy "You have no
idea how much."
I would never get sick of hearing him say those words.
Never. Even if I could feel his love all of the time. I did not
know why I did not pick up on it sooner.
His actions toward me and his soft gaze had existed long
before his confession.
The love was shown in his actions. The way he would look at
me and his black irises would expand. The playful smirk he
sent me when we bickered. The feeling of his skin on mine.
It was also the three words he would whisper as he kissed
my head before he fell asleep. The words that I would
purposely stay up and wait for so I could have the feeling of
butterflies in my stomach. The magnificent three words that
I suspected he whispered to me long before my bedroom
walls had turned green.
Stone had not only brought colour to my walls. He had
brought colour to my life.
Which was ironic because he was the very personification of
monochrome.
Every day I looked forward to. I did not just exist. I lived. I
did not need to make theories to make life more interesting
because he did.
My hands went to grip his wide shoulders as he pressed my
wet body to his. Then I tightened my grip and moved my
lips against his. His lips ferociously demanded dominance
and I happily let him deepen the kiss and take over.
His tongue flicked over my bottom lip which sent a jolt
through my body. A large hand trailed through my hair
before caressing my cheek softly. His mouth was another
story. One of undisguised raw desire. His pleasurable kisses
made their way down to my jaw and collarbone and then
further down.
"I have never listened to an audiobook in bed either." I
whispered against his jaw.
He smirked and lifted my body out of the bath bridal style
before he twirled me around “We will have to fix that."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Six
The mirror attached to the closet door was small. That is
why I was sitting on Lana's bedroom floor to see properly as
I applied eyeliner.
In the mirror, I could see Lana coming out of her small
ensuite bathroom, finally dressed.
She swirled around in her red dress while she sang a song
about cherries. One that she had been singing on loop a lot
lately.
After I finished perfecting my second cat-eye to look the
same as the first, I stood up and whistled "You look great.
That shade of red looks amazing on you."
She twirled again and then mimicked my whistle "You do
too. You are definitely the hottest date I have had."
I winked at her "Thank you."
"Now, let me curl your hair." Lana sang while motioning to
my hair that I was now protecting with my life.
"No way!" I argued, in a stern voice "I am already being
dragged to this dance. You always have to push it."
Lana pouted and her eyes went all sad "I will never ask you
for anything ever again."
"I find that hard to believe." I tutted before giving in "Fine. I
will let you curl my hair. Only if we go for food after the
dance."
"I will even pay." She replied with a grin.
I jumped onto her bed and waited for her to come over with
the curlers. She started separating my hair into strands
while I looked myself in the mirrors
My eyes went down to my black dress again and I could not
help but admire the way the silk fitted me.
Then I happened to notice that my green laced bra was
sticking out from underneath my dress.
Lana started to curl a piece of hair while I tried to tuck the
bra back inside, so it was not noticeable.
"Can you sit still?" She exclaimed, "These are hot, and I do
not want to burn you!"
"I am trying to fix the dress." I replied, "You can see my bra."
She looked down at where I was still pushing at "Just take it
off."
After she finished another strand, I gave up and nodded
while reaching to the back of my dress to unclip the clasp
and throw the green material on the bed.
"Why did you want to go tonight?" I asked curiously.
A sigh escaped her before she answered "I thought Brennan
was going to take me. I thought this would have been
something we could have done together. Anything to keep
the relationship afloat."
"It is just weird." I said to her as curl fell on my face "You
two met and it was all gooey eyes and rainbows. It is weird
how things do not work out."
"It is like you said. Not all great couples end up together."
Lana hummed "What was your example again? Buffy the
Vampire Slayer and Spike. Like you said high school
relationships are fickle."
"I was wrong." I vocalised, thinking about one person in
particular who would love to hear me admit I was wrong.
Lana pulled away and switched off the curling wand as she
sent a knowing smile my way "It is weird how things do
work out."
Small but harsh knocks at the door end our conversation
when a child's voice called "Lan Lan, can I come in?"
Excited to see the little troublemaker, I rushed to the door
and opened it. When Charlie saw that I was standing there
he then jumped into my arms.
"You will ruin your hair!" Lana shouted in an agitated but
amused tone.
I pulled back but stayed at his level while tickling his cheeks
"How is my favourite boy doing?"
"I'm super-duper, Drizzy." He said while tickling my back but
then he saw what I was wearing so he added "Wow. You look
like a princess. A sea witch princess."
"The best kind." I told him while laughing at his imagination.
A hand grabbed my arm and Lana yanked me back "I have
missed a piece of hair. Quick, get here. Before the curlers
cool down."
Charlie looked around the room in boredom while Lana
demanded that I stayed still once more.
The small boy danced around the room excitedly before he
stopped. His eyes landed on something that interested him.
My bra.
The next thing I knew, he had it against his chest and he
was prancing around "I have boobies."
Lana and I had no idea what to say to him, so we just
laughed as the little boy continued to hold the bra to his
chest.
"I think that I am going to end it with Brennan." My best
friend blurted out.
"I am sorry." I let out gently, not knowing what else to say.
She admitted "I just wanted him to be the one. He is what I
wanted. I told myself repeatedly that it would all work out. I
wanted it so bad. I wanted it to be him so bad."
I stood up and pulled her into a hug while I reassured her
"There is nothing wrong with changing your mind. You just
need to be honest with yourself and with Brennan."
Once she had pulled back, she nodded and then her face
contorted from heartbreak to confusion "It has got awfully
quiet in here."
I searched around and seen no sign of Charlie before I
looked back to Lana with horror "He is away with my bra."
Her hand waved me off "He is probably away showing my
mom it. He will be back upstairs with it now."
She was right because I heard small pitter-patter footsteps
up the stairs a minute later. The bedroom door swung open,
and the little menace stood at the threshold with nothing in
his hand.
"Where is Ella's bra, Charlie?" Lana asked while giggling.
The boy tilted his head "What is a bra?"
"The boobies." She corrected, biting her lip to stop herself
from laughing even more.
I was laughing too but my laughter died down when Charlie
spoke up.
"I gave it to Ella's boyfriend of course." Charlie replied "The
giant did not really like it though. He looked mad."
The small body had a wild imagination, so I nodded and
pretended that I believed his story. I did not have the heart
to tell the boy that Stone was busy and could not come.
"That is unrealistic. You would think Stone would be happy
that it was off." I joked to Lana.
Lana shook her head "Not when you are about to attend a
room full of spiked punch filled teenage guys without him."
Mrs Armstrong came into the room in a hurry, and she
smiled largely when she saw us both in our dresses "Both
your boys are here. They wanted to come and see you
before you went. How sweet is that."
It was sweet and I would have been happy that Stone had
come to seen me if it was not for the fact that I was too
busy glaring at the back of Charlie's head.
When the little boy turned around, my anger disappeared
because he was way too cute.
I crossed my arms at him and asked hopeful that he was just
joking about the bra "Where is it?"
He pouted "I told you, Drizzy. I gave it to the big giant. He
looked angry but I think he might have secretly liked it."
"Ella dear, Stone does have your bra." Mrs Armstrong
inputted.
"Charlie, why would you give him that?" I questioned,
leaning down to meet his level while trying to hide my
amused smile.
"I am his spy." The little boy explained "Like last time in the
garden. You were in the kitchen with Auntie and Lan Lan
while the giant gave me a whole dollar to tell him what you
told me in secret. I told him that you said you really, really,
really, really liked him."
I bit my lip to seem like I was annoyed. It was really amusing
the picture that I had in my head of Stone giving the small
boy a dollar.
I instructed Charlie "Well go and tell your spy boss that he
has five seconds to run because I am going to wring his
neck with that bra."
"What is a bra?" He asked again.
"The boobies." I exclaimed while sending him on his way
downstairs.
Lana and her mom were in hysterics at the situation, and I
joined in with them begrudgingly before our laughter died
down.
"You cannot keep him waiting, Ella." Mrs Armstrong said.
Going down the stairs first was Lana. I was close behind with
Mrs Armstrong, but we held back to watch Lana smile sadly
at Brennan making polite conversation with her dad.
Then like a magnetic pull, my eyes went to Stone.
His eyes were on me. I felt my body heat up as his gaze
trailed slowly down and then back up. The dark irises
covered every inch of my body. He looked almost
hypnotised. His obsidian orbs held me in place, freezing me
and grounding me.
The bone in his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed
infinitesimally as his attention lingered on my legs.
It was so intense and luring that I felt myself being pulled
towards him.
"I have never seen anyone look at anyone like the way he
does at you." Mrs Armstrong whispered from beside me "I
knew it the first time you brought him here. That boy loves
you more than anything."
I smiled but I did not take my eyes from him. I was not
tearing away from our heated eye gazing match.
"I did not bring him here." I pointed out "He came charging
into my life and demanded a place in it but I would not have
it any other way."
"You glow when he is near." The woman's smile was
noticeable even from my peripheral view as she said it.
I think I did glow when he was near.
Mrs Armstrong's attention fell to my bare feet as she asked,
"What shoes are you wearing?"
"I have got my green converse."
Her expression changed to one of almost disgust "Green
converse?"
"They are my best pair." I shrugged while wincing at the
idea of wearing heels all night.
Brennan stood up from the sofa and made his way across
the room to his girlfriend who was fidgeting with a red
thread on her dress.
He smiled but it did not reach his eyes as he looked at Lana
"You look nice."
"Thanks." She replied quietly.
My attention shifted back to the large figure who was still
looking over my way.
Stone never took his eyes off me as he walked across the
living room with large, determined steps. When he was in
front of me, his arms wrapped around my waist, and he
pulled me close. He kept a small distance between us so he
could study the whole of me further.
"I think you are meant to make some sort of nice comment
about what I am wearing." I joked, feeling flushed at his
unfaltering gaze "Even if it is a lie."
"You look beautiful. Always too fucking beautiful." His mouth
moved up slightly as he said it but then his jaw clenched
again "I should be there with you."
"Why?" I smiled up at him.
He sneered "To make sure fuckers keep their wandering
eyes to themselves."
Crossing my arms, I tilted my head at him "What would you
do if you were there? Gauge their eyeballs out?"
Stone went quiet. He almost appeared to be contemplating
the idea.
I shook my head at him and attempted to hide my
amusement "I think you have made it pretty clear to
everyone that I am yours."
That is when he chooses to pull my body into his chest as
his husky voice tickles my lips "Damn right."
Feeling the need to mention it before he did, I asked with a
nervous laugh "Did you like Charlie's present?"
His mouth moved until it was against my ear "Why are you
not wearing a bra?"
"It is visible under the dress." I explained.
My sentence did not lessen the tension in his wide
shoulders. It also did not stop his jaw from ticking.
I could not resist poking the bear as I feigned innocence "So
is it a bad time to mention my lack of lower underwear?"
"What?" He bellowed, his rough voice deepening.
Jumping up, I gave him a quick kiss on the jaw "Just
kidding."
A low grumble came from his chest "You are going to be the
death of me."
"Maybe you will be the death of me." I mentioned while
shamefully feeling up his chest "You are not even dressed
up and you are still ridiculously handsome. I think you would
look great in a tux or even just a dress shirt. It is a real
shame you cannot come."
He placed a piece of my curled hair behind my ear before
apologising "I am sorry."
"It is okay." I let out a small sigh "I know you and Brennan
are busy. Plus, I would not make you go with me."
"I would go anywhere for you." He spoke before
complimenting me again "You are bewitching."
"Bewitching? Who are you? Mr Darcy?" I teased as I smiled
up at him "Charlie said that I look like a sea witch princess."
Stone's chuckle came out hoarse "The most beautiful sea
witch princess."
From what I had gathered, he had eased and was more
relaxed now that the conversation about him not being able
to come with me was over.
I was not finished there. I needed my revenge on him for
paying a little boy to spill my secrets.
"I will have to dance with somebody tonight though." I
taunted.
Silence.
Then he growled "What?"
"It is a dance, and I can’t just sit around." I mentioned
before adding more of a lovey-dovey tone to my voice "I
have also always wanted to have a magical dance. Like in
the movies. Where my heart will soar, and I will be swept off
my feet."
His eyes lightened at my sarcastic tone, but he did not
completely lose his scowl.
Another soft growl left his mouth as he promised "You will
get your dance."
I was left confused as he took my hand and lead the both of
us to the front door. He only stopped his purposeful steps
once Lana called us.
"Where are you two going?" She asked from the living room.
Shrugging, I glanced at Stone who answered for the both of
us "I will have her back in twenty."
Lana did not look mad. She grinned widely as I was whisked
away down the driveway and into his black truck.
Once he had started up the car and set off down the street, I
looked out my window in the direction we were heading
which was towards the ocean.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
A smirk but no answer was all I got for the next five minutes
as he continued to focus on driving.
Just when I had come to the conclusion that he might be
kidnapping me, he parked the car up on a small patch of
grass on an empty part of the promenade.
I was about to ask why we were at an abandoned part of the
seafront when he opened the door to the truck and stepped
out.
Walking around to my side, he lifted me out of the car and
placed me down a few yards away from the car without a
word. He then returned to his side of the car where the door
was still open, and the engine was still running.
The sun was setting over the horizon with only a little light
left in the sky. Above us, the sky was dark but not yet filled
with stars. The pier's neon lights shone from a distance but
a brighter light from Stone's truck's headlights lit up the
space around us.
I still did not understand what was going on as I stood
staring at the back of him that was still messing with
something in his car.
Then it became clear what his intentions were as soon as
the familiar beat of my favourite song filled the air.
Teenage Dirtbag was blaring from his car speakers, and I
could not help but stare at him in awe as he made his way
over towards me.
He set out his hand and then commanded "You are dancing
with me."
Tilting my head at his demanding tone, I laughed "That is
not how you ask a girl to dance."
Stone grabbed my hand and brought my body closer. Slowly.
It was like he was somehow taunting me. It was working
because I wanted us closer. I took a step forward with his
hand still in mine.
Just as my chest was about to touch him, he twirled my
body around when the lyrics from the song started. Then he
brought me back into him so that every inch of skin was
resting upon him as we start to sway. His arms wound
around my waist and rested there as the song continues.
Mine moved around his neck which he had to move down
slightly so I was able to.
I had every intention of resting my head on his chest but
because of the largeness of him and smallness of me, my
cheek ended up closer to his stomach.
"Thank you, Lurch." I breathed into him.
His chuckle vibrated right down to my toes as he spoke "It is
our song."
I tilted my head upwards so I could see his face better
before raising my eyebrow at him "Who says it was our
song? I said it was my—"
My sentence was lost in the air by his lips colliding on mine.
I was on my tiptoes but that was not enough. His grip on my
hips tightened and he lifted me up so he could taste me
properly.
A moan was about to escape me, but it was cut off by his
tongue delving deeper. My hands gripped his shirt when he
deepened the kiss, and I could feel that his heartbeat was
just as erratic as mine. I let my hands wander up until they
gripped his hair. I could feel his hands trailing down to my
lower back to grip it. Long passionate kisses and a few small
loving ones in between passed and then we were both
gasping for air in each other's arms.
"You were saying, Medusa?" He cockily remarked while
looking down with adoration in his gaze.
Shrugging, I surrendered "I was just about to say that I am
willing to share the song."
He smiled down at me while caressing my face in his huge
hands "I know you were not being serious about the dance
thing, but I can’t take any chances."
"Nothing could compare to this." I asserted with a matching
smile "I do not want to dance with anybody else. I only want
you. It is you for me. It is kind of set-in stone."
At the pun of his name, he released out a deep laugh "How
long have you been waiting to use that one?"
"Too long." I confessed before resting my head against his
stomach again.
We stayed in this position for a while. The song was fast, yet
we swayed slowly to the sound of our laboured breaths and
our beating hearts. I did not want to let go. Not ever.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Seven
The hall looked surprisingly good. The decor really did make
the place feel more like a fall-themed party rather than a
smelly gym.
The windows of the large gym hall were blacked out and
from the walls, hung orange-tinted fairy lights. Over the
floors, there was a scattered mix of coloured leaves except
from a space in the middle of the room where people were
dancing.
Lana looked around the place with a smile "This place looks
amazing."
"Yeah." I agreed "Although the sweaty stench is still
noticeable."
When my attention went from the room back to Lana who
was in a glaring match with Lacey who was also making the
colour red look good.
I tapped Lana on the shoulder and motioned to an angry
Lacey "What is going on there?"
She shrugged "Lacey dislikes everyone but she has a strong
hatred for me. It has been like that since we came back
from summer vacation and started school."
"Maybe she is just jealous of you." I suggested.
Lana nodded "She glares at me at every given chance she
gets. Plus, she keeps trying to compete with me. You should
have seen her in Geography."
"There is nothing wrong with a little bit of harmless rivalry." I
replied, knowing from experience.
"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" She grinned
before putting an arm around my shoulder "I am so happy
that you have Stone. I have never seen you so happy."
Something caught my eye on the bleachers near the other
end of the hall. From a distance, I could still see several
boys gathered around one person's phone. Whatever they
were watching or looking at had all of them glued to the
screen.
Over the loud music surrounding the hall, Lana shouted
"Let’s go dance."
I let her drag me to the middle of the dance floor. The music
was upbeat, so I started to sway my hips to the beat. Lana
did the same. After a few more songs, I was starting to enjoy
myself a little more. The moves we were pulling were basic
but occasionally we would spice it up with a ridiculous
looking motion which made us both burst out laughing.
It was only when he spoke up that we noticed that a boy
was standing near us. He looked familiar but I was
struggling to remember his name. Lana looked to have the
same expression on her face, but she smiled anyway.
The nameless boy kept his eyes on her as he asked, "Do you
want to dance?"
She met my eye and once I gave her a sign that I was more
than happy to leave the dance floor, she shrugged and took
the boy's hand.
I sent Lana a small smile before I retreated to the corner of
the room. I sat down at the lowest level of the bleachers
which was a few rows away from the crowd of the boys.
The crowd of jocks were watching whatever was on the
phone with undivided attention. Their voices were excited,
and I could not help but hear their conversation.
"It is great they are live-streaming the fight." A guy spoke.
Another male voice that was a lot squeakier asked "Who
have you got a bet on?"
"The one from Arizona. People are saying he is best in the
state."
"Vulcan will still destroy him." Another voice said, "I have
got fifty bucks on him."
Something built up at the bottom of my stomach. I shifted in
my seat because I was suddenly uncomfortable.
The high-pitched voice spoke again "They have taken the
whole gladiator and Roman mythology theme a bit far."
"How come?" The other guy asked.
"Like the names I get but Vulcan getting a massive medusa
tattoo on his back is extreme."
My neck itched as I could feel several eyes penetrating the
back of my head while another familiar voice contributed
something.
I recognise it as Kyle, Chase's close friend who uttered "It
was not for Litora Bello."
A million images flashed in my head. It was like jigsaw
puzzle pieces getting put together and the full picture
revealed itself.
The first time we all went to the beach and their car was still
there. His black eye and other bruises I had seen on his
body. The nights he would disappear. The overall physique
of Stone.
Before I could hit myself for being so stupid and oblivious,
Lana jogged over to the bleachers while her heels made a
horrible clacking noise.
She fell onto the seat next to me and sighed "That guy who
wanted to dance with me was way too talkative for my
liking."
I could not listen to what she had to say because I was
already questioning her "You know last year when we took
Mythology. You know when I was put in Mr Johnson's Greek
class, and you were put in Ms Grey's Roman mythology one.
Do you remember anything from that class?"
Lana tilted her head in confusion, but she answered, "Not
really."
"I do not know a lot about Roman mythological names. They
stole all the gods from the Greek, so I just thought they
were the same thing and I never bothered to learn the
Roman ones." I shook my head as I let out a humourless
laugh "It would have come in handy now."
"Ella, what are you talking about?"
"Do you remember what Vulcan was the god of?" I asked
and I already knew that I would not like the answer.
"No." Lana said immediately but she thought a little before
answering again "I think the Greek equivalent was
something beginning with an H."
"Hephaestus?"
"That is it!" She cheered.
The god of blacksmithing and metalwork. In other words,
mechanics. Also, the god of fire and known for having an
anger streak. The least easy to get on with among the gods.
I felt a little sick.
"That is all I needed to know." I said while my voice
wavered.
More people made their way into the middle of the room as
the music changed to a slow number. From the crowd, I
could see one familiar blonde swaggering his way over
towards us through the sea of people.
Instead of a usual letterman jacket, Chase had on a white
dress shirt.
I stood up with determination and stormed my way over
towards him while ignoring Lana's protests.
When I met him halfway, I put out my hand and asked,
"Dance with me?"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chase smirked before he took my hand.
That was before I yanked him towards me and gritted out
"That was a joke. We need to talk. Outside. Now."
Kicking the plastic leaves out of my way, I dragged him out
of the gym hall and through the corridors until we were
outside of the school building.
When the cold air hit me, I let go of his hand like it
contained a contagious disease and glared at him "Litora
Bello. What is it?"
"So now you want to listen to what I have to say about it?"
He chuckled but it sounded strained.
I repeated my question "What is Litora Bello?"
"I have told you already. It is your fault you did not listen."
Shaking my head at him, I scoffed but I knew he was right. I
did not listen to him. He tried to tell me the first week Stone
arrived.
I did not know why I did not listen then.
In my gut, I knew that there was something up with the
mysterious giant that enrolled at Leavendale High. The
suspicion withered away over time because I thought Stone
would tell me something as big as that.
Chase studies my expression before sighing "It is a fight
club. It started when they arrived—"
"The night we were at the pier?"
He nodded "It is Roman themed. Kind of like a gladiator
fight."
"I got that part." I snapped at him.
"The theme just adds more excitement to it." He spoke in an
amused tone "Don't you think?"
I did not react to his remark and instead asked him "And it is
on the beach, and it happens every night?"
"Yes." He confirmed before smirking "Your Vulcan does not
fight every night though."
"But he always goes every night?" I mentioned as I thought
about how often he would leave with no explanation.
It was almost pity that clouded his face when he replied "He
is the leader of the whole thing. He is the strongest fighter.
The one with the worst temper. The people's favourite to
watch."
"Is he your favourite?" I joked while trying to find the
humour in the situation even if there was not any.
He laughed and shook his head with a small smile "No. He is
not."
"So, you are telling me that this Litora Bello happens in the
middle of one of the busiest beaches of the whole state and
they have not been picked up by the cops?" I questioned
while trying to contain the amount of worry in my voice "The
police pass the pier almost every night. How is it still
happening?"
"The cops know what is happening."
"But surely they would have shut down the whole thing if
they knew?" I stated, not convinced.
Chase shook his head, and he looked pissed off at the
question "They have tried. They tried to get them done for
violence on the streets but none of the fighters are going to
press charges. They are under some kind of contract or
something."
I wrapped my arms around myself as a chill made its way up
my spine "I can’t believe I was so oblivious. I just thought
that he would have told me."
Two hands went onto my shoulder and Chase made me look
at him.
"Do not worry, Ella." He said like he was reassuring me as
he smiled "He is getting arrested tonight."
Taking a step back, I tilted my head at him and raised my
voice "What do you mean?"
"The cops did not know about the betting system and how
they all make their money." He said while taking a step
closer "That is why I told them."
His confession made me take a step forward so that I could
shout in his face "You did what?"
Chase smiled at me again like he had done me a favour "I
told my dad about the betting system of Litora Bello. It is
illegal to make money out of a fight. With the amount of
money, they make and the amount of people that watch,
they will be facing charges."
I thought of his words. He had told his father who was chief
of police about something that was illegal. The
consequences were going to be drastically bad.
"Why would you do that?" I shouted while moving my hands
around in the air frantically.
"You still care about him?"
"I can't just shut it off." I exclaimed while my voice shook.
I needed to tell him. I needed to warn him. I felt around for
my phone and then I realised that my phone was in my bra.
My bra that was discarded on top of Lana's bed.
"You are taking me there." I demanded.
He shook his head, and it was the most serious I had ever
seen him "You can’t be serious?"
"You are going to take me there." I repeated.
He narrowed his eyes at me "No. I am not getting lifted by
the police for taking you to your fighter of a boyfriend."
"Listen to me, Catwoman. You have had no problem going to
see it before." I snarled while pointing at him.
"That was before my dad was out on a mission to get
everyone to do with Litora Bello arrested."
"You do not need to set foot on the beach." I told him "You
just need to take me there."
Running a hand along his jaw, he finally agreed "Fine."
The main doors to the school burst open and Lana rushed
out. Her eyes flicked between Chase and I before she
focused on me.
"Ella, what happened?" She asked as she looked confused
as to why I was outside with the quarterback.
I did not say anything to her as I walked over and embraced
her body in a hug.
"What is going on?" She voiced as she hugged me back.
"I need to go." I replied vaguely "I am so sorry. I am a
terrible friend."
"Why are you sorry?" She asked before she scorned me "You
never wanted to come here in the first place, but you did it
anyway for me. You are an amazing friend."
I let out a small quiet laugh as I pulled back "I will come
back later. Save me a dance."
Lana smiled "I know where you are going."
"Really?"
"You are away to see your man."
I could not smile, and I could not speak without my voice
being laced with hurt "He is not mine."
Her light eyebrow raised in confusion and then she glanced
at Chase once more before she told me "You need to tell me
everything."
"Later." I promised her before I turned on my heel and
motioning for Chase to move as well.
He hurried in front to lead the way to his car. What I was
surprised to find was that he opened a car that was not the
one I had seen him in before. It was a sporty looking neon
orange coloured one.
I raised my eyebrow at him as I got in the car.
Chase started the engine and forced out a laugh "A present
from my parents. More of a trade anyway. A shiny new car
instead of them coming home."
There was nothing I had to say to his confession, so I kept
quiet and watched the streets go by as we drove further
towards the beach. I kept my attention outside of the
window at the familiar buildings and the few passing palm
trees.
"Ella." Chase spoke, looking over at me before looking back
at the road "I am sorry."
"No, you are not." I bit out "I think you love this. You tried to
warn me at the start so I would not get hurt. Now I am so
you can say I told you so."
He ran a hand over his face before he sighed "I do care
about you. Besides what you think."
"I do not believe that."
His hands went white as he gripped the wheel "After you
have found out that he is the leader of an illegal fighting
organisations and after you have found out that he has been
lying to you from the start, you still love him."
I did not answer. I looked out the window and let my head
move once.
"That night when we were on the pier, I wish that I would
have stayed with you instead of leaving to go see the fight.
If I could rewind time, then I would." He spoke.
A breath later, I replied honestly "It would not have made a
difference."
"How come?"
The answer was clear. If I had not met Stone that night in
the ice cream parlour on the pier, then I believed we would
have met somewhere else. Maybe at Litora Bello. Maybe at
the beach. Maybe at school or at a bookstore where he
would be trying to hide as he still could not admit that he
was a nerd.
I spoke the easiest way to put the answer "I would still want
him."
The fight club was not the main issue I had. If he had told
me from the start, then I could have come around to the
idea. It was the lying I had a problem with. He had so many
opportunities to come clean, but he continued to lie to my
face and go behind my back.
When I arrived at the beach, I would warn him about the
cops and then I would go. That would be the end of it. The
end of us.
"I am such an idiot." I said aloud "I can’t believe I became so
naive around him."
Chase smiled as he spoke, and it almost looked genuine
"You are not an idiot. On the first day of school, he warned
everyone not to tell you about it. He also threatened every
guy in the school to stay away from you."
"On the first day?" I asked in disbelief.
He chuckled "Why did you think every single person was so
scared of him?"
"I don't know. Maybe because he is built like a house." I
deadpanned before tilting my head in the direction of the
driver's seat
"He is not that big." Chase scoffed.
"You do not shy away from provoking him." I pointed out
"I just can't help myself."
When he stopped the car, it was at the part of the beach
with all the commotion.
In the centre of the sand between the ocean and the
sidewalk was a significantly sized circle of wooden sticks set
on fire. Gathered around the alight planks of wood alight
was around about two hundred people, give or take. It
looked like a scene from a disaster movie. One where the
main characters were stranded on a deserted island and
gathered around a bonfire.
Strangely enough, that was what I felt like. Like I was
standing in the middle of unknown territory, and I did not
know what would happen next.
"Ella, I will come with you if that is what you want." Chase
said while turning to me.
I shook my head as I thought about the repercussions if
Stone saw me with him.
"Thanks." I made myself say and then I got out of the car. I
then slammed the door shut and added "Dickhead."
The shoes on my feet started to fill with sand from the small
holes in the converse as I made my way along the sand. I
huffed at the discomfort and took off a shoe and then the
other before I held them both in one hand.
I made it to the back of the crowd before they all started
cheering. I was not tall enough to see over the people in
front's shoulder. Even when I stood on my tiptoes.
However, I did hear a familiar voice silence the crowd with a
few words.
Whatever Brennan had said seemed important, but I could
not be sure as it was in Latin "Ave Caesar morituri te
salutant!"
I looked around to try and find a way around the people but
there was nowhere to go. The crowd was massive.
My eyes then fell on something that could help me. More
specifically someone.
The red-haired tattoo artist and the one Stone was on the
phone to when I was in the Armstrong's bathroom, was
standing among the crowd.
They are on to us. I remembered the conversation. It clicked
that he was probably meaning the police. The cops were
onto them about their fight club.
"Reed!" I called
At my voice, he almost snapped his neck to track me.
He rushed over to me as soon as he saw me while he raised
his voice over the crowd "How did you find out?"
An unamused laugh left me as I asked, "Do you not think it
is overdue that I find out?"
"Who brought you here, Ella?"
"Chase." I answered.
Reed's eyes widened so much that they were almost bigger
than the lenses of his glasses as he spluttered out "A boy?"
I nodded unapologetically.
"Do not tell Stone that." Reed instructed, "This might be
gladiator themed, but we do not actually intend on killing
anybody."
"I will cut to the chase." I said before realising my pun. I
might have laughed if I was not so livid "Chase told the
police about this."
His response was to laugh "The cops already know. They
have tried to shut us down already—"
"No. You do not get it." I argued, "They know about the
betting system."
He then went from amused to concerned in a matter of
seconds as he flicked over the crowd "It is too late. It has
already started. The fight is being live streamed to over a
million people. We can’t just stop it now."
Glancing around as much as I could see, I shouted over the
cheering crowd "I do not see any cameras."
That is when Reed asked to lift me up. I nodded my head
before he grabbed my waist and gently lifted me over his
head.
There were two cameras at the very front. One on each side
of the lit wooden torches. I recognised Stone instantly in the
middle of the empty part of the sand.
I would be able to pick him out anywhere due to his height
and build. It just helped that his back was to me and the
massive medusa tattoo stared back. He looked devastating
and superior to anything else. Like a Greek God. Or more
appropriately a Roman one.
He did not look like my Stone. He looked emotionless as he
circled his opponent. His stance and expression were vicious
and murderous. He appeared void of any feeling as he stood
tall and broad with no shirt on.
His opponent was not somebody I had seen before. He was
older with a shaved head, and he was a little smaller than
Stone. I could not say that for certain though because he
was hunched over as Stone kept continuously punching his
rib cage. Over and over again.
The man that was not my boyfriend managed a jab to
Stone's face making me wince.
"Put me down." I instructed, my words panicked and
desperate to not see any more. I then asked the tattooist
“Where do you fit into all of this?"
"I don't fight but I am still considered a God." Reed went on
to explain "People call me Mercury. The Greek equivalent
being Hermes. The messenger of the Gods."
I would have laughed if I was not shaking at the coldness.
"So, Brennan is known as Neptune. The God of the sea?" I
questioned although I already knew the answer.
"Yes." He confirmed and gone on to mention "Brennan is a
good fighter but Stone is the strongest. He would not be
here at the semi-finals if he was not. He would not own the
whole thing if he was not the best."
Even a distance away from the torches, I could feel the fire
start to heat my face as I snapped "Why did he not just tell
me?"
"Maybe he did not want you to see him this way."
I asked, "What way?"
"Like the heartless bastard that he is."
"He is not heartless." I let out as my voice went softer but
then I tutted myself "I can’t believe I am defending him right
now."
"You are right. He does have a heart." Reed agreed before
he elaborated "His heart is yours. The only real emotion he
shows is with you or when is talking about you. Which he
does all the time. That is the only time he says more than a
few words."
"He does have emotions." I bit out.
At that moment I swore I could hear the sound of bones
being broken and by the crowd shouting the name of the
blacksmith God, I assumed it was Stone doing the breaking.
The Stone that I knew was kind and funny and considerate
but that was not the Stone the world knew. I wondered what
version of him was the true one or if any of them were. I
wondered if my version was a lie.
I thought he had opened up to me, but he had not. I
wondered how much of it was a lie.
I knew something was up with him at the start. I knew it in
my gut, but I overlooked it because I grew to trust him.
I had made a mistake. I should have continued to act
oblivious to his shows of affection. I should have ignored my
own.
Reed shook his head like he knew what I was thinking about
"The official first night of all this was the night you met him.
He came here after meeting you and everyone thought he
had undergone some kind of voodoo spell. Stone went from
a heartless bastard to a heartless bastard in love. He has
never been the same since."
I shook my head "He has kept this from me the whole time.
He had gone out of his way to keep me from the truth."
"We have an unofficial motto of Litora Bello, but everybody
knows it." The red-haired guy smiled, and it looked sad "Ella
venit primus."
"What does that mean?"
"Rough translation, it means Ella comes first." Reed
explained, "He has ditched coming here a couple of times
just to be with you."
I did not want to hear anymore but Reed continued to
defend Stone.
"Stone said that you are more like a God than him. More
than anyone. A Goddess." He laughed quietly before he
spoke again "He said that Ella has a big heart. If you are
nice to her then she will protect and love, you with
everything in her but if you get on the wrong side of Drizella
Miller then you will have to face her wrath. The way he talks
about makes me think that you are actually a divine being."
Suddenly the crowd went silent.
My original response was lost when I turned to Reed and
questioned "What is happening?"
His explanation was in Latin "Pugna Ad Mortem."
"English please."
"The fight to the death." He replied while getting out his
phone and typing something "In other words, one guy
leaves the fight victorious and the other unconscious."
He turned the screen and showed me what was on it.
Written at the top of the phone was the words Ultima Ictu
and under was two different options. One green option with
a thumbs up and the other red with a thumbs down.
Reed spoke again while pointing to the phone "In Ancient
Roman times before a fighter in the arena could deliver the
final blow to kill, they had to seek approval from the
audience. The viewers watching this fight can bet on a
fighter, but they can also pay money to decide if the fighter
that is still on their feet should deliver the final blow or
entertain the audience further."
"What?"
He pointed to his phone again "Thumbs up means they have
to keep fighting and thumbs down means that Stone is
allowed to end the other guy."
I gaped at him and the new information before I told him
"Lift me up."
"Ella, are you sure?" Reed asked and it sounded less of a
question and more of a warning.
I nodded before I was lifted into the air again.
The people in front had their phones open at the same page
Reed had. The one with the red thumbs down and the green
thumbs up. From what I could see, most people were
pressing the red option.
My attention that was flicking over the crowd then rested on
Stone who had the other opponent held on the sand with a
raised fist.
The other guy looked dead. Almost unconscious but not yet.
It was Brennan that shouted to the crowd "Thumbs down."
That was all it took, and Stone was planting his fist quickly
and forcefully into the shaved head guy's face. Multiple
times.
He did not stop until the blood of his opponent spilt onto the
sand. It was almost animalistic the way Stone fought. It was
savage.
I did not know when my hands went over my mouth. I felt
the need to scream but I was frozen in place.
It was only when my eyes met Brennan's from afar that I got
myself out of the state of shock.
Brennan blinked twice before he realised that I had
witnessed Stone's ruthless violence. His eyes went wide,
and he appeared panicked.
When the crowd erupted in cheers, Brennan was running
into the middle of the ring and putting a hand on Stone's
shoulder and saying something to him that I could not make
out.
I could have guessed what it was due to Stone's reaction.
Stone stumbled back from the half-conscious guy and
looked around until his eyes meet mine. He appeared
horrified and what I could interpret as ashamed.
I had no idea what to do. I remained to stare back with no
emotion on my face.
Reed set me down on the sand for the second time and this
time I did not waste any time in running away.
I walked as fast as I possibly could on the sand, but it was
not enough. When I had climbed up the slight hill towards
the sidewalk, I turned back and seen that Stone had already
nearly caught up with me and Brennan was not far behind.
It almost sounded like a roar when he called from metres
away "Ella."
My feet stopped and I stood my ground. I faced them and
crossed my arms as I waited for them to catch up.
Once they both did, I ignored Stone's pleads and turned to
Brennan to tell him "You need to come clean to Lana."
Brennan frowned "Do you think she will care?"
"Ella." Stone spoke again and his voice had never sounded
so vulnerable and desperate "Please."
His eyes glistened and those two big black circles of dark
abyss that I had grown to love were swirling with emotion.
He looked almost scared. Then I became scared because it
dawned upon me that even in my state of rage and
betrayal, I wanted to go to him. I wanted his arms around
me and his warmth surrounding me.
"It is not your fault." I stated emotionlessly while avoiding
eye contact "It is mine. I knew from the very start when I
first met you that you would break my heart. I pushed you
away. I pushed you away, but you just kept coming back. I
should never have let you in. I should have fought harder
against it."
Another beg from him "Ella."
"I let you in." I started to raise my voice and then I moved
closer and poked his bare chest with one finger "I told you
everything about me and you could not do the same. You
did not let me in."
He never said anything. He just kept reaching out for me
again and again, but I would not let him.
"You sat there and said nothing. You sat there when I spilled
my heart out to you about how I hated that I was left in the
dark with my parents. That I hated not knowing." I spoke
with hatred in my tone "Then you still said nothing."
I pulled back and turned to go. I never made it far because
he grabbed my arm and held me in place. He tried to move
me back into his chest, but I fought against him.
I swivelled around and glared at where his skin touched
mine then I directed my harsh glare to his face "Let go of
me."
"I can't." He spoke, his voice sounded husky and almost
devastated then he repeated "I can't. Not ever."
"Fuck off." I cursed while trying to escape from his grip.
"Ella—"
Shivering from the cold sea air, I crossed my hands over
myself and shake my head "I remember that day at school
when I warned Brennan not to break Lana's heart and then
you asked if I would be hurt."
His grip tightens as he cocked his head.
"Was this what all of this was about?" I asked as I looked
around at the crowd of people "You lure me in, and you
make me fall for you and then you hurt me?"
Stone fell back a few steps like he had suffered a physical
blow
He then said slowly like the very idea was insane "I would
never hurt you. I would rather die."
"Why did you keep this from me?" I asked then closed my
mouth because if I said anymore then I feared I would burst
into tears.
I could not cry in front of him. I told myself I would not.
He breathed out and ran and a hand through his hair
roughly "I did not want to hurt you."
Anger rose from the bottom of me and released from my
throat "That is a cop out."
"I did not want to lose you." He tried again.
"You already have."
"I did want you to look at me like how you are now." He
watched my shivering figure with so much sadness and
protectiveness in his gaze.
I said nothing while I stared at him as my eyes blurred with
tears.
"Ella." He pleaded again in the softest yet harshest tone.
He never once tried to explain it to me. He never once tried
to tell me.
I found it difficult to open up to people. I found it even more
difficult to change my set ways and let someone into my
life.
"It is too late." I shouted at him.
I would not make the mistake of letting someone in again.
"Do not say that." He matched my volume and reached
forward to gently cup my face in his large hands "I love
you."
I stayed in his embrace for a second. I closed my eyes and
allowed the warmth to take over me but then I remembered
the negative feelings bubbling around inside of me.
This was exactly why I acted oblivious to everything. This
was exactly why I tried to distance myself from him. I knew
this was going to happen.
Ignorance really was bliss.
"I am done." I pointed between us "This is done. It is
finished."
"No. It is not." He stated gruffly as his hands fell to my arms
and rubbed up and down in an attempt to warm up my cold
skin.
"You knew that I hated being kept in the dark with my
mother and my dad. You knew that I hated it and yet you
continued to lie to my face." I repeated.
"I did not lie—"
"No. You do not lie. You just kept the truth from me. Is that
what you were about to say?" I looked into his eyes for
another few minutes before I finally spoke again "Bye
Stone."
"No." He gnarled and it was almost like some sort of beast's
growl.
I turned to go but he had already rounded me so that he
was in front of me again.
My gaze travelled over him. He looked so immovable, and I
knew I was not getting around him. My attention lowered to
his naked chest and the small amount of blood splattered
across his abs.
I had to remind myself that it is was not his blood, so I did
not reach out in need to help him.
Then a faint sound of sirens filled the night air. They
sounded far away but not too far that it did not send an urge
of panic through my body.
I looked at his face again and he either had not heard them
or he did not care. It must have been the second option
because the sirens started to sound closer.
"Chase called the police." I let out and I was still surprised at
the lack of emotion present in my voice "That is why I came.
To warn you."
"I don't care."
"You have better things to worry about than me." I stated
the obvious with a humourless laugh.
"No. I fucking don't." He growled, "Nothing is more
important to me than you."
The wailing repetitive noise got louder and louder until I saw
blue and red lights flashing in the far distance.
"Do something. Say something." He said.
"Like what?" I harshly replied, "What do you want me to
do?"
"Shout at me. Scream at me. Hit me." He moved closer as
his voice deepened "Just do something."
"I don't want to hit you." I answered softly and truthfully,
looking at the bruises on his face and his stomach and
wincing.
"Do something." His voice raised slightly, and he sounded
more desperate than ever.
"Fine." I replied, "You want me to do something?"
In my hands were still my pair of green converse that I took
off to go onto the sand. I raised one of the shoes and with all
the anger built in me, I chucked it straight at him.
It bounced right off him. Just under his chest area. He did
not even flinch and that made me angrier, so I threw the
remaining jade coloured shoe at him.
This throw was not that powerful because I did not intend it
to be. Even with my undeniable fury and the knowledge that
nothing I could do was a match for his strength, I still did not
want to hurt him.
"I love you." He expressed before affirming "There is no end
to our story."
"Story? Is that the analogy we are using?" I tried to keep my
voice level and emotionless, but I failed because my tone
was spiteful.
His jaw ticked and his hands clenched and unclenched like
he wanted to reach for me. Like he wanted to chain and
force me to stay by his side.
"You are the dark forest. You are the big bad wolf. You are
Rumpelstiltskin. You are my villain." I bit out while I felt a
tear roll down my face "You have sent me so off course in
my life that all I think about is you. You have written yourself
into every aspect of my life. You are in my head and in my
heart. In my bloodstream. My bedsheets smell of you. I
cannot look at my hair or hear my name without thinking
about you."
He stared at me. His jaw ticking and an expression of
heartbreak on his face.
"Do you want to know what the worst past of all this is?" I
asked rhetorically before answering myself “I do not want to
get rid of you or unwrite you. That is the worst part. You
have ruined me. I have never hated or even disliked you.
Until now."
"You cannot leave me." He held on to my arms with a firm
grip like he was determined to never let go.
I did not think he was ever planning to leave and that
terrified me because if I stayed longer then I would have
melted into his touch.
"I am scared of you." I whispered to him.
He let go of me instantly as his black eyes widened. He took
a step back and then another like just his presence would
tarnish me.
What I said was not the truth, but it was the only thing that I
knew would make him let me go.
"I will make this right." He said while sounding possessed by
determinedness.
His jaw ticked again and the muscles in his arms and chest
tightened. He looked ready to fight. Fight for me. He
appeared ready to fight and conquer anything to get me.
"Do not come for me, Stone." I forced out "I don't want see
you."
He rasped out in a dark tone "You cannot ask that of me."
"I am not asking you. I am telling you."
The two police cars pulled up right next to the pier about a
minutes’ walk away from us.
Stone's voice turned frantic as he turned to Brennan who
was standing near "Get her out of here. Make sure she is
okay."
Brennan glanced my way and smiled sadly before replying
to Stone "They know I fight. I am getting lifted too."
I shook my head at both of them and what I said next was
more to myself "I don't need anybody."
"I am sorry. Fuck, I am so sorry." Stone reached out again
but then stopped himself as he neared. He looked so
desperate, and his voice sounded so stern yet like a plea "I
will come back to you. I will make this right. We are not over.
I love you."
Latin was a dead language and one that was not popularly
known but I did know one phrase and it happened to be the
perfect bittersweet ending to us.
The words I was about to say had two meanings. One of
them the popular meaning that was the ones Julius Caesar
uttered last before dying that meant you had been betrayed
and stabbed in the back. The other meaning was a way of
saying you too.
I meant both because I still loved him. I could not imagine
myself not being in love with him.
I blinked away the tears and I said back "Et tu."
Stone kissed my forehead quickly before pulling back. He
watched me longingly as if he needed me to function.
"Go." He commanded.
My voice came out quiet "What about you?"
"Go." He said again but his tone was tyrannical and left no
room for argument.
"Goodbye L—" I was about to say his nickname as I took a
few steps backwards away from him but then I corrected
myself "Goodbye."
I started with a speed walk and then I broke out into a jog. I
forced myself not to turn back because I knew that if I did
then I would have gone back to him.
The ground felt gravelly under my bare feet, but I kept
moving until the sirens and him were a memory.
I focused on walking away. I would not look back. I was
planning my next steps which were to head back to the
school and back to Lana but not before stopping at my
house for something to cover my feet.
The streets were dark and empty. It left me alone with only
my thoughts. That was the worst part of walking up the
pitch-black sidewalk.
There was nothing for me to distract myself from what was
going on in my head. All I could see was him.
All I could think about was if he was going to be okay. All I
could feel was worried that he might go down for a crime
and I would not see him again.
I had to go back.
Just as I arrived outside of my apartment block and I was
about to turn on my heel and go back to the beach and to
him, I saw a shadow sitting inside the driver seat of Kermit.
I left my car keys on the kitchen counter because Stone
dropped me off at Lana's house. There was only one other
person that could have been inside to have gotten the keys.
The first thing that greeted me as I opened the car door was
the smell of alcohol. A lot of it. The smell pinched at my
nose.
The next thing I noticed was my father's appearance. His
hair was longer than I had seen it last, and a generous
beard had grown where it was once clean cut. His eyes were
droopy, and his head swayed backwards and forwards like
he could not keep conscious.
I laid a hand on his shoulder "Dad?"
My contact startled him, but he did not fully open his eyes.
A small mumble came from him "Ella?"
"Yeah. It is me." I confirmed softly before patting his arm
again "What are you doing in here? Let’s go inside."
A whimper came from him, and his head started to get
closer to the steering wheel "I tried to help her. I tried to
save her."
"Who?" I questioned while trying to pull his head back away
from the wheel "Who did you try to save?"
He answered the name of my mother "Lauren."
"Dad, we should go inside and talk."
"She was so unhappy. It was all my fault. I was never
enough for her." My father cried.
Putting my hand under his chin and pushing him so his head
rested on the car seat, I reassure him "Mom loved you. We
do not know why she did what she did, but I do know that
for certain."
His eyes opened fully at my words, and he studied my face
for a while before speaking again "You look like her. You
have her big eyes and freckles."
"I have your eyes." I argued with a soft laugh.
My father shook his head and hiccupped "You have her
shape of eyes. Big doe eyes. You got that boring brown
colour from me."
"Thanks for that." I remarked with a laugh.
His whole body shook as he whispered, "I miss her."
"I do too."
My face was still the centre of his attention. All humour and
lightness from the conversation was gone. He looked sad.
Almost lost. Another hiccup and he nodded his head to
himself.
His hand went forward, and he turned the keys to start the
engine while sighing "I need a drink."
With the smell of strong booze still filling the small car, I
reached for the door handle and clutched it tightly, but I did
not pull it.
My hand lingered there as I pleaded "Dad, please get out of
the car. You are drunk."
"Not drunk enough."
My voice shook but I managed to get my full scream out
"Please. You can’t drive."
He did not hear me. He only switched the gears of my car.
"Please." I screamed again and it hurt my throat "Get out of
the car."
Silence was all that came from him.
I tried one last time to plead with him "Please get out of the
car."
Defeat. That was all I felt. Everything else was numb. I had
lost my mother and I could not lose him too.
My hand let go of the door handle and dropped down like it
could not even carry its own weight. I tried to focus on my
breathing, but I could not feel anything as I sat back in the
car seat.
Tears blurred my vision for the second time that night.
Streaks of white from streetlights were the only thing that I
could make out as they went whizzing past. They seemed to
be moving faster and faster and more constantly. Then
suddenly they all meshed like one big ball of light.
Then there was nothing.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Forty-Nine
"Ella, can you hear me?"
The voice was feminine and familiar. It was warm and
comforting. I felt like I could open my eyes and it would all
be fine.
A white light was the first thing I woke to. It was extremely
bright, and I had to blink a few times before I could focus on
anything.
"Do you know where you are?" The comforting voice spoke
again.
My mouth felt dry, but I managed to let out a laugh "From
the white light, I would say either the afterlife or the
hospital. There is not a massive library consisting of all the
books in the world nor a vending machine with unlimited
gummy bears, so I am going to guess the second option."
Another familiar female voice cried "She is okay!"
I tried to move my head so I could see who they were, but I
could not. My body felt like there was a massive amount of
pressure on it and if I moved an inch then I would break.
I started to panic. I tried to move around as I was desperate
to sit up. That was when I started to feel the surface I was
rested on move. The hospital bed moved until I was sitting
upright, and I could see the two figures.
The older woman that I had grown to love that was in her
scrubs uniform asked me "Do you know who I am?"
I nodded "Mrs Lewis."
She smiled at me, and I could see her relief "I thought I told
you to call me Mom or even just Kelly. You are family."
Laughing caused my ribs to hurt and I winced at the pain
before looking to the other side of the bed "Lana?"
Lana's eyes were red, and tears were running down her face
when she spoke "When you are better then I am going to
kick your tiny butt for scaring me like that."
Mrs Lewis was the one to talk next "What is the last thing
you remember, Ella?"
My head ached so I reached up and put a hand on my
forehead as if something was causing me pain while I
replied "I was at the beach. I was with Stone. I was mad at
him."
"Do you know what happened after that?"
"No." I answered after thinking about it "The last thing I
remember before it went black was Stone's face."
Once I had gathered up the strength to move my head, I
took a glance downwards where the hospital gown covered
my top half. My legs were on display, but they were cut and
bruised badly. At least ten deep cuts were spread across the
skin of both my legs. Some of them looked a raw red.
I let out a cry and tried to move them, but I was stopped by
a hand.
"You need to rest." Mrs Lewis instructed, "Your body has
went through a massive amount of trauma."
I tilted my head to the side to study my arms and to my
horror, they looked the same as my legs.
Mrs Lewis brushed a hair away from my face and she
stroked my cheek "The cuts are not too deep so they should
not leave a mark. Some might take some time to heal."
Looking from her to Lana to the state of myself, I asked
wearily "What happened?"
Lana reached out and took my hand and waited like me to
hear what Mrs Lewis had to say. The older woman looked
hesitant to share.
"Please Mrs Lewis." I pleaded because nothing right made
any sense.
She cupped my cheeks and smiled but her eyes were not
clear as she spoke "When you left the beach after seeing
Stone and the fight, you walked home. You must have met
up with your father and then got into your car with him. He
had been drinking. You both made it as far as a few blocks
away before the car swerved into a tree. The police believe
your father went unconscious at the wheel."
"I do not remember." I interrupted with a sob.
A squeeze at my hand and then Mrs Lewis continued “When
the paramedics got to you, they found you in a critical
condition. You were barely alive. The medics at the scene
wanted to prioritise your father as he was still conscious and
able to respond. Your father begged them to focus on you.
To save you."
My neck felt wet from the tears, and I could not stop my
chest from shaking. I tried to make it stop because it hurt
but I could not calm down.
"You lost a lot of blood. You are very lucky to be alive." She
smiled sadly.
I knew exactly what that smile meant. It was the same
practised look the hospital staff gave us when they were
telling us that my mother had died.
I asked anyway "My dad?"
"The time they got you into the ambulance and in a stable
condition, your father had already passed away." Mrs Lewis
delivered the news "I am so sorry for your loss."
With a shaky hand, I covered my mouth to stop the cries
from filling the large quiet room "No."
Lana instantly wrapped her arm around me and tried to
remove the hair stuck to my face with the tears. I managed
to move myself to the edge of the bed so she could get on
and sit beside me. I let the heaviness of my head go and I
rested on her shoulder while trying to contain my shaking.
I cried and cried for what felt like hours. I cried until I made
myself sick. The image of my father was the only thing I
could think about. My father before he started drinking. I
would never get that back.
"What am I going to do?" I told myself as another sob
erupted from me causing my body to ache.
My best friend wasted no time in asking "What do you
mean?"
"Both my parents are dead." I voiced "I have lost them, and
I feel like I have lost part of myself."
Taking my other hand, Mrs Lewis gave it a gentle squeeze
"Please try and relax. You should not be putting too much
stress on yourself."
"You need to time to process this, but everything will be
okay." Lana inputted.
With the back of my hand, I attempt to clean myself up and
stop the urge to break down further "I do not know why I am
feeling like this. I lost him a long time ago."
"You just lost your dad, Ella."
They both tried to reassure me further that everything was
going to be fine, but I did not believe any of it. I could not
stop myself from crying. All I wanted to do was curl up on
the bed and go back to sleep. I did not want to be awake,
and I did not want to deal with everything.
"What about my apartment?" I breathed out in small pants
"My dad always paid the expenses, and I was living off his
life savings. Where am I going to live? What am I going to do
—?"
"Ella." Lana called my name and cut off my rant "Of course
you are coming to live with me. You do not need to worry
about that or anything else."
"College." I spoke with a gasp "I was budgeting with what I
had for living expenses and I was putting money away. Now
it is pointless. I cannot afford it. Not when it is just around
the corner."
I was listing insignificant things that did not really matter
but I could not help it. Worry after worry piled on top of me.
"You are the smartest person I know. You will get a
scholarship without a doubt." Lana affirmed.
After a while of comforting me, Mrs Lewis excused herself "I
am going to go and see if the results from your blood tests
and CT scans have come back."
She shut the door behind herself which left a hollowing
silence in the room.
I turned to Lana and apologised "I am sorry that I never told
you about my dad."
"I wish you did." She replied while holding me tighter
against her "I understand though why you did not. You
wanted to handle this yourself. You did not want pity."
"I am sorry." I said again.
"You have always been the strongest person I have known.
You have always wanted to stand on your own two feet with
your head held high, but I wish you turned to me." She
repeated, "I would have been there to help you."
I used to think that I was strong, but I was not.
What I needed was one person there with me. I wanted one
particular set of large arms around me.
"I wish I told you too." I said, "I just could not admit to
myself that I was struggling and that everything was not
okay."
"It is okay for you not to be okay. It is okay to admit that you
are struggling."
"It is not." I argued before trying to change the subject "I
also should have told you what I was doing last night but I
thought that it was maybe better you heard it from Brennan.
I know that I would rather have heard about everything from
Stone."
Lana went quiet until she wiped her new tears away and
broke the news "That was not last night. Ella."
"What do you mean?"
She told me "You have been unconscious for three days."
"W-what?"
Her arms held me tighter, and I almost let out a hiss at the
pain, but I did not say anything. I needed the warmth she
provided.
"The dance and the accident were on Friday night." She
explained, "It is Monday today."
I hated myself at that moment because my main priority
was something that it should not have been. Someone. The
person that had been on my mind every single second of
that night and since I had woken up.
I questioned her "Did Stone get arrested? Is he still in jail?"
"No. He is here." She let out gently and then motioned with
her head to the chair in the corner of the room "He sat in
that chair for three days. He did not move once. All he did
was watch you like a guard dog and scare all the nurses."
"He did not leave for three days?" I asked, my voice
shaking.
Lana shook her head "He was like a statue. He never even
slept."
"Where is he? Is he okay?"
"When we saw your arm twitch and when we saw you move
for the first time then we convinced him to let you have
some space." She told me "It did take us four hours to get
him to leave you. He refused until he finally moved to the
waiting room."
I tried to sit up but as soon as I did, I started to feel dizzy.
Lana gently pulled me back "You heard Mrs Lewis. Your body
has been through so much trauma. You need to rest."
"I’m such a hypocrite." I affirmed as my head hit the pillow
"I shouted at Stone for keeping secrets, but I kept things
from you."
"That is not the same thing." She scolded "I searched Litora
Bello, and I watched his fights. He is ruthless. He enjoys
fighting. He is not a good guy."
"Stone is a good guy." I defended "It is not like he has went
and attacked a random person. It was a consensual fight.
The other guy and his opponents train too and were also
part of it."
Her face contorted to disbelief as she spoke "He has anger
issues. I think he takes pleasure in fighting. You should have
seen him the three days you were not awake. He was
crazed. Almost deranged. He was lashing out at everyone. It
was terrifying."
"When I lost my mother and my father started drinking and
resenting me, I was devastated." I revealed, "However I
never really felt like I lost my home until that night and that
was long before I got in the car with my dad."
"You can't want to stay in a relationship with him?" She
gaped at me like I was mad
"I was mad when I confronted him. I was angry and it was
the heat of the moment. I never meant anything that I said
to him. It was always in the back of my head that I would
get back with him. I cannot just stop feeling from him." I
admitted to her "All I can think about is that I could have
died and one of the last things that I would said to him
would be that I hated him. Which is the furthest thing from
the truth."
"I am just worried about you." Lana expressed as she waved
her arms around dramatically "What if one day he gets
angry at you and lashes out and hurts you?"
"He would never hurt me."
"Not intentionally." She argued again and then she sighed "I
know he loves you more than anything but is that enough?"
I kept quiet and listened.
"Litora Bello is going to be massive. The last fight got two
and half million views." She pointed out before she spoke
again "I just want you to be sure that he is right for you.
That he is what you want."
"What happened to you being Team Stone?" I asked, "You
were all for him the other day."
She shook her head "I knew he was slightly aggressive, but
this is a whole new level. From the couple of fights, I
watched with him in it, he almost killed the other guy."
Tears start to drop down my face again and I nodded my
head in agreement "To answer your question, I do want to
be with him. I want him and I cannot think about not being
with him. I want to be with him, but I can't be."
"I just want you to be happy, Ella." Lana voiced quietly
"Whatever that is. I will support you."
Stone did not deserve it. He deserved better than someone
that was a mess.
I was broken and I could not see myself ever being fixed
again. I had already relied on him too much. I could not do it
to him. I could not put him through all of what I was going
through and be a burden.
I knew what I had to do.
After Lana seen that I had settled and I was no longer such a
mess, she spoke up "My mom is waiting outside. I am going
to go home for a quick shower and then I will stop off at
your place for a change of clothes for you."
I nodded and that left me wincing at the smallest of
movements.
"Mrs Lewis said that you will not be discharged today." She
informed me before questioning "Is there anything you want
me to grab for you?"
"Go home, Lana." I instructed softly "I am fine."
"Of course, I am staying." She sent a stern look my way and
for the first time, it was a semi-scary one "I’m coming back
as soon as I can. I already feel bad for leaving you now for
an hour."
"Would you be able to get my laptop while you are out?" I
sighed "I really need a distraction right now."
"Anything you want." She replied before smiling with tears
in her eyes as she walked to the door "I love you, Freak
Show."
Matching her smile, I responded with "I love you too,
Barbie."
As soon as she was away, I was getting ready to hoist
myself out of the bed. The room was starting to feel
claustrophobic, and I needed to move. Ignoring the
inflictions of pain that got more excruciating every
millimetre I moved, I finally managed to manoeuvre myself,
so I was standing and holding the bed for support.
I hissed every small step I took. The pain was the least of
my concerns because I was too busy focusing on my
balance. My legs felt like jelly. I only made it halfway across
the room until I needed to stop.
A deep growl came from behind me "What the fuck are you
doing?"
I stilled. I was about to face him and turn around, but it was
too late.
Large hands gently scooped under my knees and hoisted
me up. Stone pressed me against his chest in bridal style.
His touch was so soft and delicate like he was trying not to
hurt my body.
I did not look up at him. I studied his hands as they
tightened their grip under my legs and around my waist. He
was holding on for dear life like he was afraid that l would
disappear. I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck
and buried my head into him. I still did not look at him. I
could not.
I knew if I did then I would go back on my word and I would
stay in his arms and never leave.
He reciprocated my action as he buried his face into my hair
and inhaled deeply.
Stone pulled back and his touch moved under my chin "Ella,
let me see you."
My head moved back away from his chest, but I did not look
at him. I closed my eyes as he stroked my face and let out a
deep breath.
After what felt like a good hour, he moved his hand that
held my legs an inch and I could not help but let out a noise
at the pain. That was when he also let out a noise that
mimicked mine like he was hurting too.
He walked with me in his arms and then set me carefully
down on the bed. Once he had made sure that I was
comfortable, he let out another deep breath and stumbled
back a few steps until he could study me fully.
That was the first time that I saw him properly since I had
woken up. I started to feel my chest ache at the sight.
He was angry. No, he was worse. Stone was furious. He was
not looking directly at me. His gaze dragged from my face
to my marked arms and then my legs. The bone in his jaw
kept ticking, like a bomb and it was about to go off.
His whole-body stance screamed predatory and gave away
that he was enraged but his eyes were something else. If I
had thought that I had seen him vulnerable before then it
was nothing compared to what he was currently. His black
irises were full of torment. The area around his eye was a
bright red and his hair looked like he had run his hand
through it far too many times.
Stone studied me briefly. It was like he could not bear to
look. It was almost like seeing me in such a state caused
him physical agony.
He eventually chose to meet my tear-filled eyes. The way he
looked at me made me gulp. I could feel myself heat up as
he took a step forward towards me.
In two large steps, he was towering over my from. Both of
his hands slammed onto the pillow at each side of my bed.
He leaned down until he was face level with me. I could feel
his warm breath on my face. So close that I could see how
bloodshot his eyes were and how his usual angry black orbs
were filled with vulnerability and desperation. I could feel
the tension simmering in him.
Every shaky word of his hit me in the face as he gruffly
spoke "How could you do that?"
I kept quiet and tried to avoid his gaze, but he did not let
me. He was so near that I could not escape. His wide
shoulders enclosed me in, and his eyes held me captive.
"W-What?" I uttered.
It was not anger that left his mouth. It was some other
stronger emotion that escaped him as he voiced “Why did
you get into the car?"
My lip was trembling when I mustered up an answer "I do
not remember exactly what happened."
He did not calm down. He moved back and ran both of his
hands over his face.
His bloodshot eyes met mine again as he repeated roughly
"Why did you get into the car?"
I trembled over my sentence "I don't know."
"How could you do that?" He roared as his chest heaved.
A few minutes later and he still had not calmed down. He
looked so distressed, and I wanted to reach out to him.
"How could you do that to me?" He asked, his voice growing
quiet and deeper "You might as well have ripped my heart
out."
I matched his loud volume as I slammed a hand on my chest
"He was still my father. I don't remember that night, but I do
know that I was probably thinking that he was still my dad.
He was the one who read to me before I learned how to. He
was the one that got me interested in making up theories.
He was the one to spin me around or mess up my hair when
I was feeling down. He was my dad."
After my outburst, I realised that I was crying again. It was
more volatile than last time.
A sob left me and that made Stone move quickly. He was in
front of me instantly. He sat in the bed and lifted me up and
onto him. I climbed into his lap immediately
"I’m sorry." He said repeatedly as I sobbed into his chest
"I’m so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled."
The pain did not matter. I wanted his arms wrapped around
me more than anything. It did not matter how much my
body hurt It would be more painful not to feel his warmth on
my skin.
I buried my face in his neck until every sense of mine is
filled with him. He rubbed my back as he whispered sweet
nothings and reassurance in my ear.
I almost forgot that I was meant to be ending us. It was
selfish and horrible, but I indulged. I needed him.
His head leaned down until it was buried in my neck. He was
holding on so tightly that I did not think he would let me go.
All I knew was that I did not want him to.
Gripping his t-shirt while not moving from my place in his
embrace, I admitted to him "I feel guilty."
Stone kissed my forehead and lingered there "Why?"
His shirt started to feel wet against my cheek when I finally
plucked up the courage to explain "A small part of me feels
relieved. I am no longer worried about where he is or what
he is doing. Also, when they told me when I woke up that
my dad wanted to save me over himself, I felt a small bit of
happiness because I knew that he cared. I am a horrible
person."
His hold on my body grew tighter as he replied sternly "No.
You are not."
A few more breaths later and I explained what was running
through my head "I think he might be in a better place right
now. That is what I am telling myself. I hope he gets to meet
up with my mother and finally find some peace. That is what
I am telling myself. That is the only thing keeping me
going."
My face was pulled away from his chest by his hands so that
I was looking up at him. He studies me. His distraught gaze
flicked over the whole of me. He did it multiple times and I
could feel his handshake on my cheek.
I had not seen the condition of my face yet but if it was
anything like the rest of me then I could assume I did not
look my best.
"I would have left you my apartment if I died." I said at my
attempt at a bad joke to lighten the mood.
Stone was not amused. He looked to be thinking about
something with a scowl, yet his wide eyes give away that's
he was still scared of something.
"If something—" He stopped and closed his eyes to take a
deep breath "If something happened to you then how can
you not see that it would be the end of me?"
"I am sorry." I apologised because I hated seeing him so
defeated "I am so sorry."
"Three days." He bit out "Three days you did not speak. You
did not smile. You did not move. You did not do anything."
I closed my eyes because I could not see the sight of him
with his head hanging low. I could not see the sight of him
so destroyed.
"For three days you were not here with me." He said lowly"
If you were to go then you would take me with you."
The dampness of my cries reached my chest, and I could
feel my tears soak the hospital gown as I repeated "I’m so
sorry."
"I could have lost you. I have never been so fucking petrified
in my life." He said as he held on tighter to my weakened
body "Then again nothing in my life has ever meant so
much to me."
The ache in my chest worsened and I could not help but
take one hand that was wrapped around him and clutched
my chest. The physical anguish was nothing at that moment
as what hurt most was to see him hurt.
"Ella." He said so quietly that I almost did not hear him "Are
you scared of me?"
"Of course, I’m not." I shook my head "I could never be
scared of you."
He sighed in relief and pulled me back to him.
I rambled on "I am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I do not
—"
"There is nothing you need to be sorry about." He told me
as he wiped my tears away "I just cannot bare to see you
this way."
I was right earlier. I could not hurt him anymore. I had to
end us.
"How does this always happen?" I let out a sigh and then
breathed him in.
"What always happens, baby?"
I pulled back and stared up at him "I try to fight it. I try to
push you away. I try so hard, but I always end up in your
arms."
"Because that is where you belong." He said to me sternly
like it was some sort of universal truth "You belong with me.
Always."
"Stone?" I called quietly, knowing that there was a massive
elephant in the small hospital room "You would not hurt
anybody outside of the fight, would you?"
He frowned when I moved back from his embrace. I decided
to remain on his lap, but he did not look content that I was
away from him.
The question made him stay silent until he could come with
an answer "We do not need to talk about this now."
"Yes. We do."
"I am going to kill Chase." He declared nonchalantly.
"He should not have told the police." I agreed
"I do not give a fuck about that." He growled "I told him not
to even think about you let alone approach you. He has the
nerve to speak with you and think he can try and take you
from me."
I did not get angry. My voice was neutral when I pointed out
"Maybe you should have told me then. Why didn't you?"
"I did not want to risk losing you." He uttered in his deep
voice "I can’t lose you."
"Let's flip this." I argued "How would you feel if I kept
something from you? How would you feel if I was leaving
you in bed every night to go somewhere without telling
you?"
His eyes narrowed at the thought "You could not. I would
know if you were to leave then I would not let you go."
He had a point. If I was not sleeping on top of him then his
vice-like grip was always around my waist all night so I was
stuck to his side. I never once tried to escape from it.
Probably because I knew I could not and because I always
loved the feeling of his arms being around me.
I was going to miss that.
"You never tried to tell me." I whispered "You never sat me
down and tried to explain it to me. I would have listened."
"I'm so fucking sorry, baby." He let out lowly and hoarsely
like the words were leaving the bottom of his chest "You will
never know how much. I hate myself for hurting you and I
will never ever forgive myself."
I shook my head and closed my eyes.
Stone spoke again "Ultima Ictu is the final blow of the fight.
One time when I had the other guy ready to knock out, he
pulled out a knife and jabbed me right in the side—"
"What?" I exclaimed in horror before looking him up and
down in concern "I have not seen a scar on you."
"I got a tattoo to cover it."
I did remember feeling something when I traced it with my
hands. I loved his tattoos, but I could not help but hate them
also. It was a reminder that he had got hurt.
His jaw clenched and he explained, "The pain of that knife
pales to this."
"It pales to what?"
"This." He said while looking at my face and while he took
one finger and lightly trailed down to my marks on my arms
and then my legs.
I tilted my head at his expression "They are not deep. They
will heal."
"Since I met you, I have been trying to get Litora Bello
legalised." He delivered gently "Brennan's dad Baron helped
make a case. A sporting company based in Vegas are
interested in making it a mainstream event. That is how I
did not get charged at the police station. It is under
investigation."
"Why are you trying to do that?" I asked at his motive.
His stare was so unfaltering as he pronounced every syllable
of his next sentence "I want to be somewhat of a better
man. For you."
"Stone, I never wanted you to change. I don't want you to
ever change." I said with all the energy left inside of me, so
he knew that I meant it "I just wanted you to tell me."
"The fights were my sort of twisted fucked up idea of
therapy." He informed while turning his head to the side and
not meeting my eye "Litora Bello started a few years back in
San Francisco. It was small and it was only meant to keep
the fighting in the area to a minimum. There was a set time
and place where us guys could fight and take out our anger.
It was the one time and place I could just let it all out."
I listened intently as he told me the history of his fighting
with a look of shame on his harsh features.
"That was until I met you. I could be on the brink of hell but
as soon as I seen your face then it would all change." He
continued, his gruff voice lowering "You alone are my
salvation. Ella venit primus."
I remembered what the Latin meant. Ella comes first.
At the last line, I felt myself start to feel suffocated again
"Can we talk about something else?"
Stone nodded "My dad had this theory."
"I would have got on well with him." I smiled sadly.
"Yeah. You would have." He agreed before speaking again
"He had a firm belief about love."
Part of me did not want him to tell me. The other stronger
part needed to know.
I asked, "What did he say?"
"He said that Stone is a suiting name for us. We do not
move for nobody, and we don’t let ourselves feel easy." He
told me "It takes a strong force to move a stone. The men in
the Stone family only love once."
"I can’t believe that. I can't." I muttered sadly, tears starting
to roll down my face again.
"It is true." Stone stated like it was undeniable.
I knew what I had to do next, so I breathed out so harshly
that it felt like my lungs were going to collapse.
Rubbing my eyes, I told him "I meant what I said on the
beach. It is over. We can't—"
"No." He growled.
I tried again "We can't—"
He interrupted again with another gnarl "No."
"We cannot be together." I rushed out.
Another soft growl emerged from him "Wrong."
"We both know that this is not just a high school fling." I
voiced "This is so much more and whatever it is, I know that
it is not going to end well."
His anger did not seem like it was aimed at me as he looked
away and barked "Why?"
I loved him. Too much. If I got hurt by him then I did not I
would survive it. I also did not want to hurt him again. I was
so scared that I would not be able to piece myself together
and that would affect him.
Instead of the truth, I remembered what he said earlier, and
I told him "One of the reasons you moved here was for your
fight club. You will be here, or you will be in Vegas making it
big. I never had any intention of staying here after
graduation. I might not get into a big fancy college, but I
want to try."
"The practical thing about fighting is that you can do it
anywhere." He raises a brow, not looking any less
maddened "Also did you know that I qualify for a mechanic
in every corner of America?"
"Please Stone."
His eyes and stance were full of determination "You are
going to have to do better than that, Drizella."
Saying the first thing that comes to mind, I blabbered "We
are young. You do not need to be held back and tied down
by me. You might be fighting and becoming massive in
Vegas in the near future. You should be able to do things
without looking back."
The giant arm muscle and his jaw ticked in a rhythm as
heard what I had to say.
"I don't want to be your setback." I said to him "Without me,
you can bar crawl and hook up with beautiful girls hanging
around casinos and—"
Murderous. That was the only way to describe his
expression. I stopped talking because of his obvious fury.
He gently held under my chin, so I had no choice but to
meet his intense gaze.
The words of his were more of a statement as he spoke
gravelly and strictly "I am not capable of looking at
someone else. Not that I would ever fucking want to. My
eyes never leave you and that will never change. It is you.
Nobody else. Nothing else."
I continued shaking my head.
"I will never stop loving you and whatever wild theory you
have about the afterlife then I will love you there." He
grumbled out determinedly.
His face was not so clear anymore. He looked fazed out and
blurry. Splashes of colour danced around him.
I closed my eyes and pleaded through the form of more
sobs "Please do not make this any harder than it already is."
Stone did not move an inch.
"I will not leave, and I will not give up. I am never going
anywhere, Medusa." He declared resolutely "I will be here
every second and there is nothing you can do about it. You
can push me away all you like but I will not move. You can
make up millions of excuses why I should go but that will not
matter. I only need one reason to stay and that is you. I
need you."
Then he told me the same he used to whisper to me every
night before I went to sleep. The three words that always
made me feel better.
I whispered it back because it may have been the last time,
I said it aloud.
My head was going to explode. It felt that way anyway and I
could not ignore my body pains any longer. The weight of
my eyelids was too heavy. It was too much of a chore to
keep them open.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty
Eleven hours. That is how long he had been sitting by my
bedside. Nine o'clock that morning was when I woke up with
him beside me and by eight at night he still had not moved.
After I fell asleep that morning, he moved a chair to the side
of my bed and he had not left since. Not once did he even
move in his seat.
Stone was still motionless in his seat as he continued to
watch me type harshly on my laptop. Over the hours, it
started to feel like a game between us. I would not move
and he would not either.
To avoid his fixed stare, I decided to get out my laptop and
continue writing the book that I had started a year ago. I
had been hitting my keyboard all day and going at a
supersonic speed to distract myself from him.
I stole another glance to the side, and I could see that he
was still watching me. I let out a deep breath before I
focused my attention back on my work in progress of a
book.
I had written twenty thousand words in the space of the few
hours, and I was at least quarter of the way finished to
completing the whole book.
We had not talked since the morning. Not since our
disagreement. He was making everything too hard. He was
not leaving and all I wanted to do was talk to him and have
his arms around me.
Just as I was about to give up and say something, a knock at
the door stopped me.
I sat forward and crossed my legs while placing my laptop to
the side as Mrs Lewis and another male walked into the
room.
The middle-aged man that I did not recognise walked up to
the bottom of the bed and read the chart while introducing
himself to me "I am Dr Gus. It is nice to meet you, Miss
Miller."
"It is nice to meet you too." I smiled before letting out a
small laugh "Even if I really do not want to be here."
At my remark, Dr Gus let out small laugh before he got
serious "Your results from your scan and blood test are back
and everything looks normal. There is nothing that looks
concerning. You are an extremely lucky girl given the
severity of your crash."
Lucky was the last thing I felt.
The doctor continued "All of the cuts on your body should
heal over time. Some of them might leave a slight mark but
I doubt they will be noticeable."
I let out a sigh of relief "So I will not always look like the
bride of Frankenstein?"
A low grunt of disapproval from my side reminded me that
Stone was listening also. The deep sound that he made
indicated that he did not find my warped sense of humour
amusing.
Putting down my medical chart, Dr Gus smiled kindly at the
unmoving stubborn giant next to me before he spoke "This
must be your boyfriend. A committed one at that. He has
been making my staff run away in fear for their lives all day
for three days now."
"He is my..." I stopped and let out a breath "He is my ex."
It pained me to say but I hoped that my words would make
him leave. I needed him gone so I could try to hurt less.
Stone's head hung low beside me. He looked devastated as
he grumbled unhappily under his breath "Ex?"
I could not meet his eye, so I turned back to the doctor and
Mrs Lewis who both looked unconvinced at my title for him.
"We are going to keep you under observation tonight." Dr
Gus spoke "It is late, and you need rest. Just tonight and
then you can leave tomorrow morning."
If my legs did not feel like they were numb, then I might
have jumped up and down in joy. I had only been concisely
aware one day and it was enough for me to want to pull my
hair out.
I nodded his way "Thank you, doctor."
"Do you have any more questions?"
"Yeah." I tried to see the humour in a horrible situation "Why
is hospital food so bad? Do you purposefully make it that
way so you can get patients to discharge themselves faster
and you can have more vacant beds?"
"You might be onto something there." Dr Gus walked to the
door before calling over his shoulder as he left "I wish you a
speedy recovery, Miss Miller."
The doctor left but Mrs Lewis remained at the doorway, and
she was shifting where she was standing.
"Mrs Lewis, are you okay?"
She took a step forward and answered but not before
glancing at Stone "Your father's insurance and will was set
up in the company that my husband works for. He has a few
things to discuss with you but if you do not feel up to it
today then that is perfectly okay. We will take this at your
pace."
The truth was that I really did not want to talk about
everything. I did not want to think about the consequences
of my father's death. I then changed my mind and decided
that it would be better to get it over and done with.
"Is Mr Lewis outside?" I asked.
"He is." She replied.
Stone leaned forward in his seat by my bedside. He grabbed
my hand and intertwined it with his own.
"Ella, you do not need to think about this now." He told me
gruffly.
I did not meet his eyes, but I answered him "I will be fine. I
would rather get everything sorted."
Mrs Lewis nodded understandingly and then left the room to
fetch her husband.
A squeeze at my hand and Stone moved so he was closer to
my face.
"Please Ella." He begged in his deep voice as he closed his
eyes for a split second.
I felt my chest clench as he said it. I had the urge to reach
out to him, but I fought against it.
"Please what?" I asked as I subconsciously squeezed his
hand back.
"You are not okay. You just lost your father. I hate that you
feel you have to pretend that you are fine. I hate that you
are not speaking to me." He scrubbed his large hands over
his face as his tone went deeper "It is killing me, Medusa."
"I am okay." I lied to him as I tried to pull my hand away.
He held on tighter, and he would not let go.
"Stone." I let out softly "Go home."
His voice came out hoarse "You are my home."
All I could do was stare at nothing in particular. Anything
that was not him. I gripped the metal sidebar that was lifted
on the left side of the bed.
If I looked at him then I would only jump into his arms and
never leave.
"You are making this impossible." I muttered.
"Good." He stated determinedly "I am not leaving you."
I decided to take a harsher approach "Hospitals really
should have security so unwanted visitors can be removed.
Cops should be stationed outside this place to get rid of
insistent annoying pain in the ass giants."
He stood abruptly and paced the room. He never went any
further than a metre away though. His movements were as
if he was protecting my small space like a guard dog.
His dark eyes captivated mine and never left as he spoke
tyrannically "Do you really think some fucking security
guard or cop is going to get me to move? Do you think
anything is strong enough to make me leave your side?"
Stone towered me. He towered everyone but it was not just
his height that made him look intimidating and
unconquerable. It was also his whole frame. The wide
shoulders and the overall mountain of muscle contributed
too.
I huffed out a reply because the question itself was
rhetorical “No. I don't."
Mr Lewis' arrival interrupted whatever Stone was about to
say. The man walked in holding a brown leather briefcase.
Apart from that, he did not look like a layer on duty. His
clothes were casual and the ones I had seen him in before.
"It is great to see you, Ella. Of course, not under these
circumstances." Mr Lewis greeted me "I am so sorry about
your loss."
"Thank you." I said quietly.
The man then turned to address Stone by handing him a
piece of paper "This is the number of somebody you need to
call."
Stone shook his head "I am not leaving her."
Mr Lewis argued, "You need to call the number."
I sent Stone a small encouraging nod "Go."
His jaw ticked and he still looked unwilling to move.
After thirty seconds of what appeared like telepathically
communicating with Mr Lewis, Stone nodded before
standing up and walking to the door.
Before he left, the large man turned around and met my eye
"I am outside. I am not going anywhere."
Mr Lewis took the now empty seat by my bedside and put
his briefcase on his lap as Stone left the room.
The man was close enough that I could see his friendly
features and his grey moustache contrasting his dark skin
perfectly. I could see how similar he was to Brennan, only
older.
He smiled sympathy "How are you feeling?"
My lip moved up and I let out a strained laugh "Like I have
been in a car accident."
Understanding that I was just trying to make light of the
situation, he let out a small chuckle before opening the
briefcase "Ella, if you are not up for this then please say so."
"I am fine, Mr Lewis."
He waved me off "Please. Call me Baron. You are family."
"You are worse than your wife." I pointed out while giggling.
Then my laughing ceased when I suddenly reminded myself
that he was not family. I was not planning to be close to his
family or the guy outside my room and there was no
humour in that.
Mr Lewis took out a couple of pieces of paper and read from
the page "Drizella Anastasia Miller."
"My father is not getting into heaven or whatever place the
good souls go to." I deadpanned "What kind of decent
human being would allow their child to be named Drizella
Anastasia?"
"I think your name is lovely." The man argued before skim-
reading over the first document in his pile "As you are
probably aware, your father when he passed away did not
have a dollar to his name."
Rubbing my hands over my face, I sat forward more "I
guessed that."
"His account was declared bankrupt two months ago after
paying your monthly rent fee."
"That can’t be right." I inputted with a frown "I received a
letter last month conforming that everything had been
paid."
The expression on Mr Lewis' face turned sheepish.
He replied wearily while looking down at his documents
"The expenses were paid from another account. Also, all
future expenses of your apartment are to be charged from
the same account."
"Can I see the sheet?" I questioned, curious to see if he was
mistaken.
The man handed over the single piece of paper hesitantly. I
skipped past the part that seemed unimportant and that
was filled with money terms. I slowed down at the part
where it read transactions.
The name that was printed in bold made my breath hitch.
When I stayed silent, Mr Lewis started flapping another
document around in the air before swiftly moving on "All
your home finances are paid. There was nothing to be
concerned about paying back until the accident."
"My medical bill is huge." I stated the obvious.
Mr Lewis nodded "It was. All your health care expenses have
also been taken care of."
My lip quivered when I asked, "Can I see that sheet?"
He handed over the next piece of paper. I skipped to the
bottom where the name of the person that had paid for
everything was written. I put my hand over my mouth in
shock as I read the same name as last time.
One lone tear fell onto the sheet and hit directly onto the
two words Valentine Stone.
I handed both bits of paper back to him and tilted my head
"Does this not bother you?"
"What do you mean, dear?"
"Stone has paid for everything. He has spent a huge amount
of money and—"
A hand on my shoulder stopped me from continuing.
"He would do anything for you." Mr Lewis spoke, "I think
that if you asked him for the moon then he would find a way
to fight against nature itself to give it to you."
My intake of breath was so loud that it would have surprised
me if Stone had heard it.
"Plus, that boy makes too much money on his fights
anyway." Mr Lewis added.
"I am going to pay him back." I assured.
The man chuckled "He will not let you."
"Is there anything else I should know?" I asked while looking
at the other paper in the pile.
"No. That is all I have for the moment except arrangements
for the funeral." He responded before enquiring "This is an
awful thing to ask for you to think about, but do you have
any ideas what you would like for a funeral?"
"I had not really thought about it." I said aloud but more to
myself.
I had not been thinking at all. I did not want to. That is why I
spent hours writing my book.
After concluding the obvious, I eventually gave him an
answer "I do not have any family. Just some distant cousins
in Louisiana. My father lost all his friends when he lost my
mother and his job. There is only really me so it will be
something small."
Mr Lewis nodded before moving on "Lastly, I do not think
anyone from social services will visit. Usually under these
circumstances they would put you into foster care but you
are eighteen and legally an adult."
A knock at the door and then Brennan walked in with a
frantic facial expression "Dad, the guy on the phone wants
to speak with you."
Turning around to face his son, Mr Lewis sorted his files
before closing his briefcase and making his way to the door.
The older man turned around at the door and gave me a last
wave "I will see you soon, Ella."
Brennan hurried across the room. Before I could consider
what he was about to do, he sat on my bed and threw his
arms around as he enveloped me in a tight hug.
I put my arms around him instantly and tried to bite down
my hiss at the pain.
"Shit!" He jumped back but remained seated on the bed
"Sorry. I did not mean to hurt you. I have just been so
worried."
I smiled and for the first time that day, it was a genuine one.
"It is okay." I reassured, "I would take that hug over the pain
any day of the week."
He tilted his head while having a quick once-over at my
condition "How are you?"
"I am fine." I told him before asking "So what brings you
here?"
"What brings me here?" He replied while narrowing his eyes,
but his soft smile remained as he spoke "I am here because
you are my Little Ella. You are like my little sister, and I love
you. I believe without Lana or even without Stone, we would
still be best friends."
"I love you too, Lover Boy."
Brennan stayed quiet for a while before he let out a chuckle
"You gave it hard to Stone on the beach. I wish I could throw
a shoe at him and not face any repercussions."
I felt like I had to justify myself "I was just so upset, and I
felt like I had been kept in the dark. He had so many
opportunities to tell me. I had to hear everything from
Chase. I wanted to hear it from him. I wanted Stone to
explain it to me."
He nodded like he understood.
"You were there that day at the locker when Chase and I
were arguing. He was laughing at me and trying to insinuate
that Stone was sneaking off to see some other girl." I
explained "No doubt you told Stone everything that
happened between Chase and I. So why did Stone not tell
me then?"
"What would the reality be of that being the truth?" Brennan
countered back with "Stone would never even think about
another girl."
I kept quiet and played with my hospital gown neckline.
"I do not think that moody fuck ever stops thinking about
you. Period." He added.
"I know he would not cheat but I am just saying that he
could have told me the truth."
"I think he is ashamed." Brennan confessed, "He probably
did not want to risk losing you or for you to see him losing
control on his anger like that. He tries really hard to be
better for you."
"Never once did I think Stone was Mother Theresa." I used
humour to push my feelings down "It does not matter
anyway. We just are not meant to be."
"What?" Brennan blabbered like he was in shock.
Twirling my hair on my finger, I explained "I have only seen
him fight once but he is good. That much is obvious from
what I have seen and from the talk around school. This
Litora Bello can be something big and he can go far. I know
he can."
"Then what is the problem?"
"He can't go far while I am in the picture." I stated before I
elaborated "I am a distraction. I could see the underlying
message when Reed said about how he missed fights for
me. He does not need me holding him back. He deserves
better."
Brennan's mouth parted in shock then he closed it in
contemplation before he explained his view.
"I have to go to school until graduation. A year ago, I
applied to this course to get a qualification so I could teach
surfing. They told me that I needed to have graduated."
Brennan told me before he added "Stone has no reason to
be at Leavendale. He is twenty-one. He has no reason to be
at school except from his own agenda."
I cocked my head and listened intently.
"I liked Lana the night I met her, but I did not see it going
anywhere." He admitted before telling me "It was Stone that
kept insisting for me to get to know her better even though
he had never been the slightest bit interested in my love life
beforehand."
I stammered over my words "Are you trying to say that...?"
"That he attends school only to see you? That he connived
and convinced me to date Lana so he could get closer to
you? That he loved you the moment he saw you?" Brennan
spoke before he said "Yes."
All I wanted to do was erase the last few minutes and the
precious conversation. All my mind was doing was repeating
his words over and over again. I wanted to go to Stone.
After a few minutes of silence, I finally spoke up and
changed the subject "Do you love Lana?"
Brennan shook his head "I wish that I did."
"If I was able then I would kick your ass for leading her on." I
threatened while glaring at him.
"I did want to love her." He sighed before he confessed,
"The truth is that I never really got over my first love."
"Your first love?" I uttered quietly.
He nodded, the veins in his neck bulging.
"What happened?" I questioned.
"I am obsessed with her." He let out lowly like it caused him
pain to say "And she hates my fucking guts."
I wanted to know more. I wanted to ask who it was. I wanted
to shout at him for hurting Lana.
I kept quiet.
"I better go." He smiled sadly and avoided talking about the
topic more.
He moved closer and I leaned forward so he could kiss my
forehead. His lips were about to touch my head when a
noise stopped him.
It almost sounded like a bear or a lion. It was feral anyway
and it was coming from the guy taking up the whole space
of the doorway.
Moving back instantly with hands held up in surrender,
Brennan defended himself "You just missed my massive
speech about her being like my little sister."
Stone stayed glued to his spot at the door when Brennan
walked to him. They exchanged a few quiet words before
Brennan took off down the hospital corridor.
The giant returned to his chair by my side.
I put my hands on the bed and tried to manoeuvre myself so
I could lie back onto the pillow. A jolt of pain made its way
from the bottom of my spine right up to the top and I shifted
while involuntary letting out a noise at the discomfort. I
attempted to go slower and eased into a better position, but
I could not help but wince.
As soon as I did relax into the pillow, a hard shaky breath
filled the room.
The deep ragged breaths caught my attention and I looked
to my right and what I saw made my heartbreak.
He was in the chair that was far too small for him. His
elbows were set firmly on his knees and his forehead resting
on his large palms. His wide shoulders were shaking as he
took large, ragged breaths.
Stone was crying.
I was taken aback at the scene in front of me. I could not
believe it. Stone was not one for showing his emotions. He
never showed anything on his face or in his behaviour. That
was what led to people believing that he lacked feeling but
there he was crying.
My stomach dropped and tears started to form in my eyes. I
could not take the sight of him hurt. I pulled the blanket that
was covering my body off and I moved to get up, not caring
about the pain or anything else but him.
I stood in front of him, but he did not look up at me. He only
moved his hands to my waist and buried his face into my
stomach as his shoulders shook again.
"Stone." I whispered as I moved my hands to his hair.
His eyes were bloodshot as he eventually met my eye.
"You need to get back into bed." He spoke, his voice gentle
yet strict.
I did not move.
He stood up with intent. He wrapped one large arm around
my waist before he hoisted me up gently and carried me
back to the bed. He was touching my waist and my arm like
I was made of glass and one small move would shatter me.
I managed to bring my legs back into the covers then I
moved over slowly until there was enough room for him.
Once I had stopped moving, he settled onto the bed and put
his shoulder behind my back so I could curl up into him. My
head rested on his bulky shoulder while my leg found
sanctuary over his. His hand reached out and pulled the
blanket to cover me up again.
My hand wandered up and rested on his chest as his heart
moved erratically. He took more deep unsteady breaths. He
then buried his head in my hair and that seemed to calm
him down slightly.
I listened to him breathe and that was all I needed to feel
safe. I needed him. It was selfish but I trapped the small
moment in time and wrapped myself in it. I wrapped myself
in him.
Wiping my tears away, I kept my cheek remaining pressed
on him as I looked up at him and whispered, "Are you okay?"
His lips went to my hair as he kissed my head "No. You are
hurt and I cannot handle it."
"I am sorry."
"It is not your fault." He declared "It is mine."
"What do you mean?" I asked while lifting my head and
frowning at him "None of this is your fault."
Stone whispered against my skin "I should have been there.
If I was there, then none of this would have happened."
I shook my head so hard that a tear flew horizontally off my
cheek "This is not your fault."
He breathed out harshly only one word "Ella."
My head fell back onto him again and I hugged him tighter.
As tight as my body would allow me to. I buried my face into
his shirt and inhaled the smell of leather and engine grease.
He pressed another kiss to my head as he cupped my face
and pulled my head back so my eyes would meet his.
The black irises looked dull and broken and the sight
brought another set of tears to my face.
His thumb caught every single one of my tears as he rasped
out "Tell me about him."
I knew who he meant. He meant the other person apart
from him that I had tried not to think about the whole day.
I thought back to all the things I loved about my father.
There were no more new memories to be made. I could only
resurface the old ones.
Gathering composure, I reminisced "My dad was a really
calm and relaxed person. Quite serious sometimes. The
totally opposite of my mother and me. There was only really
two times that he got annoyed by something and even then,
he still found the good in every situation."
Stone smiled at me, and I managed a smile back.
"He took me along to his work colleagues annual quiz night.
I sat there and tried to answer as many questions as
possible and when we won, I ran around the room and
shouted boo-ya into my dad's boss' face." I laughed at the
memory "My dad tried to act angry at me, but he found it
really funny. I went every year with him after that."
His attention never withered once "What was the other
time?"
"I was eight and it was Christmas. I had opened all of my
presents which cost a lot of money, but I never looked twice
at them." I let out a half-laugh, half cry "I was more
interested in the cardboard boxes that they all had come in.
I sat inside one of them and pretended that I was in some
kind of space shuttle. My father tried to get me to play with
my real presents. He pretended to cry about how I did not
like my presents from him, so I was guilt tripped into leaving
the boxes alone. I spent all Christmas Day with my new toys
to make him less upset. He was lying because while I was
distracted, he gathered the boxes and glued them together
and painted it so it looked like a cockpit with a window
looking out to a galaxy. It was one of the best presents and
Christmases I had ever had."
He wiped more of my tears away as he admitted "Ella, I
have met your father."
I looked up in surprise and then tilted my head in confusion
"When?"
"It was only one time. I did not know who he was then."
Stone explained "He betted on Litora Bello a lot. He was at
the beach almost every night. He approached me once."
"Drunk?"
A small nod and then he continued "Your dad said I was his
favourite fighter and that he always had his money on me."
"I have only seen you fight for thirty seconds but I think he
was right to." I agreed.
Stone chuckled humourlessly "I do not think I would be his
favourite choice of guy for his daughter."
He placed a finger under my chin and tilted it upwards
more.
"I wish that I could have met him properly." He spoke "I
would have convinced him to see me as the best option for
you. I would have told him that you are always going to be
safe and loved because I will make sure of it."
My stomach dropped. I tore my gaze away from him and my
chest shook. I raised my head slightly so my lungs could still
receive oxygen. Dying would probably hurt less than a
broken heart.
"I can’t do this with you." I cried while staring down at my
hair and fiddling with the messy strands "I can’t do this to
you."
His voice went back to the usual strong and deep sound
when his grip on me tightened. He pulled me further into his
chest as he spoke his words like they were inevitable "You
are not going anywhere."
"I can’t—"
"You are lying." He growled, "I can see right through you."
I cursed him for being right as I let go of my hair. It was a
dead giveaway that I wanted him to never let me go.
"Why?" He pleaded, his deep voice demeaning "Why are
you doing this?"
I avoided looking at him "I told you earlier."
"No."
"No?" I repeated.
There was no further response on his end. He gently moved
me, so I was lying on top of him and so that his arms were
surrounding and protecting me.
My face rested on his chest and my words were muffled by
his shirt "I do not know how to do this."
"How to do what?"
"I do not know how to say goodbye to you." I admitted.
He snarled "You are not."
Ignores his statement, I asked nicely "Can you leave before I
wake up, so I don’t have to say goodbye?"
"No." He growled again "I will fight for you. I am good at
fighting."
I bit back a laugh at his neanderthal behaviour before I
uttered "Stubborn ass."
His touch was so gentle, but his voice was harsh as he
stated, "The only person being stubborn is you."
I huffed "Are you really not going to leave?"
"Never."
"Now I know what Edgar Allan Poe was feeling when he
wrote The Raven." I voiced as I felt my eyes shut "I can
understand what he was trying to say about the persistent
unmoving presence."
The last thing I heard was his rough voice "It is your
favourite poem so you should know how it ends."
I did know how it ended.
The raven stayed.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-One
I opened my eyes with a soft yawn. I blinked a few times
before trying to sit up. I realised that it was not possible as a
head resting on my chest stopped me from moving.
Stone must have moved further down during the night
because a portion of his large form was hanging off the
bottom of the bed. This allowed him to snuggle his head into
the centre of my chest.
He was leaning on his side with his ear pressed up against
me like he had fallen asleep listening to my heartbeat.
Staying still where I was because I did not want to wake
him, I tilted my head to see his face.
Even in his sleep he still had an intimidating expression
plastered on him. I almost let out a laugh at his sleepy
scowl. He still looked protective and ready to scare anybody
that came near me while unconscious.
I ran one of my fingers along his tensed jaw and then to his
lip that was upwards in a grimace. His features softened at
the contact, and he almost started to look at peace.
A gentle knock at the door made me pull my hand back. Mrs
Lewis stood at the door with a warm smile as she watched
the scene before her.
"He has not slept in four days." She walked closer so she
could whisper her words "He must be exhausted."
Guilt instantly jabbed at my stomach as I studied his state.
Mrs Lewis quietly told me "He would not have had it any
other way. He was so worried about you, and he thought
that if he blinked then you would disappear."
It felt like too much. I could feel the weight on my chest, and
I did not think it was from the big guy resting there.
"I was scared too." Mrs Lewis admitted "You are family. I am
so grateful that you came into my son's life."
I started my soft attempt at breaking the news to her by
using her name for the first time "Kelly, I can't be with him."
Something twitched against my chest. Not inside but
against.
"Is this about Litora Bello?" She moved closer and frowned "I
think you should kick his ass into next week for lying to you,
but I know you need to hold onto him."
"It is not that. I know that if the accident never happened
then I would have got back with him." I revealed before I
added humorously "I would have made him grovel, but I
would have taken him back."
She smiled but it only lasted a second "Fighting illegally is
not what I wanted for him but I think that is the one time he
can let go of that built up anger."
Her smile was warm and contagious, and I could not help
but smile back at her
I admitted "I would never stand in the way of something
that makes Stone happy or even content. Nothing."
"He has been hellbent on getting Litora Bello legal and
mainstream." Mrs Lewis said, "No doubt that is all for you."
"It would not matter to me if it was not." I replied, "I would
still want him regardless."
Mrs Lewis sighed "We have good jobs. Baron is a lawyer,
and I’m a nurse but sometimes that is not enough. You know
first-hand how much it costs for even an apartment here."
I nodded.
"Stone is the main provider of this family. He always
contributes if we are struggling." She revealed, "He does not
let the world see it, but he is a good man."
"He is." I stated without a doubt "I know that. I have always
known that."
"I know why you are trying to let go." Mrs Lewis mentioned
I stayed quiet so she spoke again.
"I met Baron in high school. It was love at first sight. It was
perfect and wonderful but when it came to graduation, I
called it off. Baron was off to Harvard to get a degree in law,
and I was not really going anywhere in my life. So, I let him
go because I thought that was what was best for him." She
told me before continuing "He hated that I did it. He fought
for me and look how it turned out. I married him and had
Brennan and then we adopted Stone. Everything worked out
beautifully. I would not change anything."
Stone was who I looked at when I replied "I can’t do this to
him. I am holding him back. I can’t drag him down with me."
The twitch on my chest happened again. However, it was
less of a twitch and more of a mini earthquake.
"You do know that he is not going to let you go." She said
while sounding sure of herself and fully confident "He is not
going anywhere."
I did not answer because I could not. I did not have a
response.
Stone decided at that moment to wake up. He got up with
ease. Almost like he had been up for a while.
He gently moved his head away from me. I no longer felt
buried alive, but I missed him already.
"You can go home now but you should be on strict bed rest
for at least a few days." Mrs Lewis spoke up when Stone did
not, and she addressed me "Your body might be in pain at
times, so I put some pills in your bag. They are high dosage
so only one at a time. If you experience any headaches or
dizzy spells or anything else that seems abnormal, then get
yourself back to the hospital."
I nodded my head at the information before I swung my legs
to one side of the bed and pulled myself up. Stone was
there instantly and supporting my balance by making me
lean on him. He took all my weight onto his.
"I will go and fill out the paperwork. You are officially free
from this horrid room." Mrs Lewis expressed before she
made her way out of the room.
I waved but my goodbye was short-lived as the woman
popped her head back into the room.
"The only time I want to see you in here again is when you
are giving me my grandchildren." Mrs Lewis quickly added
before she disappeared.
My jaw dropped as she ran away. I did not look up at Stone,
but I could feel a small rumble that sounded almost like a
chuckle in his chest.
I walked over to the corner of the room where the bag was
that Lana had brought with my clothes in it. I started by
pulling on a pair of loose-fitting pants then I pulled off the
ugly hospital gown and replaced it with a plain black baggy
shirt.
Stone lingered behind my body and made sure that I was
okay. He left enough room between our bodies however that
meant I had space.
When I turned to go was when he decided that all bets were
off.  He grabbed my bag and then he grabbed me. He
carefully placed his hands on my waist and my legs before
positioning me bridal style and clutched against his chest.
He made sure my legs and my back were supported.
"Let me down!" I squealed.
"No."
"My legs still work perfectly fine." I wiggle them as I said so
to emphasise my point "Put me down! I can walk!"
"No." He grumbled again stubbornly before walking out of
the room and setting down the corridor with me in his arms.
Crossing my arms and avoiding the stares of randoms in the
hallway, I glared at him "You do not need to do this. I am
perfectly capable of walking."
He still did not set me down when we went out the
automatic doors and outside into the parking lot.
I avoided his watchful eye when I spoke "If it is too much
trouble for you to drive me to Lana's then—"
His death stare burnt holes into my neck, and it left me no
choice but to look him in his eyes. The intense dark look left
no room for argument.
Stone opened the door to the passenger seat of the black
truck before he set me down carefully. He even gave me a
deep sound of disapproval when I would not let him do my
seatbelt for me.
He shut my door and made his way around the vehicle to his
side. He started the engine without another word.
The car ride was silent. I flicked my attention between the
passing scenery out of my window and Stone's hardened
expression.
His grip on the steering wheel was so hard that the veins in
his arms bulged and his knuckles had turned white.
I could feel the tension simmering in him.
To ease the tension, I spoke up "I’m going to pay you back."
He glanced at me for a few seconds before focusing on the
road again "For what?"
"Do not act oblivious." I scolded before changing my voice
to a softer gentler tone "You paid for my apartment. You
changed the rent, so all future fees are charged from your
account. You paid for my full medical bill. I am paying you
back."
"No. You are not."
I ignored his stern voice and continued "I will get the money
and I will pay you back every cent."
"Just a promise that you will never get hurt again is enough
payment." His voice deepened as he spoke, "That is all I can
ask for."
"I am paying you back. End of discussion." I quickly
disclosed before asking a question to change the subject
even though it was none of my business anymore "How
much do you make from one fight?"
His answer was short "Twenty."
Knowing that he definitely did not mean twenty dollars, I
replied "Twenty hundred?"
"Thousand." He said before taking a look at my surprised
expression then adding "I do not need your money."
Twenty thousand. Even I would attempt to put up some sort
of fight for that amount of money.
"I do not need your money either. I will pay you back." I
argued.
He did not reply aloud but I could tell he was not giving up.
"I did have a job a year ago. It was at this healthy smoothie
place. I was terrible at the job. I lasted barely a month." I
rambled on to fill the silence "This woman had ordered a
Bloody Mary smoothie, so I chopped a lot of tomatoes for
the drink, but I was not paying attention while I done it.
Let’s just say it was definitely a very Bloody Mary."
A small smile made its way onto his face for a split second.
With that in mind, I kept going with trying to use humour to
avoid what was really hanging in the air between us "So I
am not good at anything that has to do with food service. I
do not think I would make a very good anything. I am
always too busy thinking or in my own little dream world.
Maybe I can become a stripper—"
"What," He growled and cut me off “did you just say?"
There was not a single hint of amusement in his face as he
sent a glower that was so intense that it sent a shiver down
my spine.
Another growl and he emphasised every word of his next
sentence "That will never fucking happen."
I fiddled with my hands, but my arms caught my attention
and I let out a laugh "I guess I can not be one. Especially not
when I look like I have been in a fight with Edward
Scissorhands."
"Ella, you could have a million permanent cuts on your skin,
and you would still be the most beautiful girl." His eyes
softened as he took a glance in my direction and affirmed "I
said what I said because you are mine."
My head fell back onto the headrest, and I watched the
ongoing traffic as I softly asked, "Why will you not let me
go?"
The frown was prominent in his voice. I could hear how
unyielding and how difficult he was going to be about the
issue. How immovable he would be and how hard he would
fight against it.
"Like you said. I am your villain." He spoke "The villain does
not just give up and let the one thing that he wants more
than anything in the world go. I will not let you go."
What I wanted to scream was how I never meant anything I
said that night of the fight and accident. That I loved him,
and I did not want him to leave.
"In the story, the protagonist usually defeats her villain.
Then she gets her Prince Charming and lives happily ever
after." I countered back as I tried to focus on anything else
but the feeling of my heartbreak.
"You once told me you did not want a Prince Charming."
I hummed in agreement because I could not deny it. How
could I when the only thing I wanted and could only ever
want was him?
We approached a set of lights and when the car stopped,
Stone rested his arm on the back of my seat before he
reached down to the floor at the back of the car and
grabbed something.
He then sat back up and set two shoes gently on my lap.
They were not just any old random pair of shoes. They were
my green converse. The ones I wore to The Fall Ball and the
ones that I had threw at him.
"You are not Cinderella." He pointed out in his gravelly voice
"She did not lose both her shoes."
Laughing to stop myself from crying, I met his gaze "I did
not lose them. I threw them at this really large immovable
giant that was blocking my path."
He let out a small husky yet strained laugh.
"My hit did not hurt him though." I added.
Stone rubbed his face with one of his large hands before he
sat forward in his seat as the lights turned green "Yes it did."
I knew that he did not mean physically. The shoes bounced
off him like a trampoline.
My shoes were left on the promenade when I threw them
and when he got arrested. I bit my lip to contain my shaky
smile as I ran my hand over one of the green converses. He
must have gone back for them. That was the only
explanation there was for him having them.
I had to ask anyway "You went back for my shoes?"
"I got out the police station about an hour after I was
arrested. I drove to the apartment, and you were not there. I
did not think you would go back to the dance, so I went to
the beach. Your shoes were there, and you were not. It was
about midnight when I—" He stopped and took a deep
breath before he went to continue "I got the call."
My hand started to shake as I forced myself to look down at
my lap and not at him. I had cried enough the past few days
and I had to remain strong.
If I did what I wanted to do which was to crawl onto his lap
and reassure him that I was okay and that I was here, then
that would only make it harder to leave.
"Rumpelstiltskin is also what I called you." I told him "He did
not get what he wanted in the end. He loses to the girl."
"Not without a fight." He pointed out before tapping the
steering wheel almost impatiently "So what do you say?"
I felt my nose twitch as I tilted my head "What?"
"We have done this before." He spoke briefly "Three days."
"I have three days to guess something again?" I asked in
confusion before I said "I already know your first name."
"Three days." Stone repeated before explaining “Three days
for you to come up with a good reason why we should not
be together."
I blinked at him twice before I asked, "If I do not by then,
what would be the forfeit?"
He smiled but it slowly turned to a smirk. It was my
favourite smirk that he used to give me when we bickered.
It disappeared so he could adopt a serious expression when
he nonchalantly named the forfeit.
"I want you forever." He rasped out.
The heat rose to my cheeks and all I could do was question
him "You want me forever?"
His head turned and he sent a stern look my way. He looked
at me as if it was obvious.
"So, if I win and give you a solid reason why we should not
be together then you will leave me alone?" I asked while
trying to cover up my solemn tone.
Silence.
Stone did not reply.
I asked again "If I win then will you walk away?"
Silence again.
A few minutes passed and so did a hundred times of Stone
clenching and unclenching his fist which resting it against
the steering wheel. His jaw ticked too.
He finally spoke up "You do not have a solid reason."
"I gave you my reason yesterday." I argued before I
mentioned, "Actually I gave you two."
"Not good enough."
Shaking my head, I retaliated with "Yes they were. They are
good enough."
"I heard you."
Tilting my head again in confusion, I questioned "What?"
"I heard you this morning." He let out in a small gnarl "I
heard what you said."
He had heard me with Mrs Lewis.
"Then I have gave you three reasons." I let out a sigh.
"They were bullshit." He told me with a scowl.
I argued "No. They were not."
"I would bet any money that you will not come up with a
good excuse." He grumbled determinedly "None that I will
not be able to fight against."
"If you are so confident about that then why make the time
duration only three days?" I challenged.
His hand moved and planted itself on my thigh as he
confessed hoarsely "Because I can not go longer without
you."
I let his hand stay firmly on my thigh. Even against my
better judgement and the logical side of me.
"The past few days have the worst thing I could of ever
fucking imagined." He admitted with gritted teeth "The next
three will be hard but bearable because I know that I will
have you by the end of them. Three days without you in my
arms is all I can put up with."
"I-I do not think we are good for each other." I let out a small
cry.
He stilled before he stole another glance. He appeared lost
and desperate.
"Ella." He let out like it was a curse of fate "I know that you
are a too good for me. I have known it from the start. I have
always known it."
I was about to protest but his deep voice cut me off.
"I know that you deserve so much fucking better than me. I
wish that I could give that to you but I am too fucking
selfish." He expressed to me "I need you and promise that I
will be better for you. I will do anything."
"It is not that." I released weakly.
What I meant to say was that I thought he was too good for
me. That he deserved better.
Swallowing down the part of me that wanted to call it quits
now and just surrender myself to him, I replied "I have never
backed down from a challenge with you before. Three days
and I will come with a reason then it will be over. We will be
over."
Racking my brain for reasons why we could not be together
that he could not argue against was harder than I expected.
We sat in silence for the next twenty minutes while I
thought about it harder.
I did not want to admit to him that I was scared of losing
someone else. That it floated around in my mind the idea
that he might wake up and decide that he wants something
better than me.
"I want the three days to start tomorrow. The hospital is not
a clear place to think, and I need at least a day to think." I
lamely came out with.
His mouth went up in a small smile at my excuse.
"Fine." He agreed after a few minutes of hesitancy "You
have until midnight on Friday."
Friday was going to be an eventful day. Halloween and my
birthday. It was also from what I had learned a big event for
Litora Bello. It would also be the day that I lost Stone.
We pulled up to Lana's house. He stopped the engine, and I
took my seatbelt off. He did too which made me stop in my
tracks.
I grabbed my bag from the back of his truck and avoided
looking at him "I guess I will see you."
"You are hurt." He grumbled determinedly "I am carrying
you inside."
Turning to face the Armstrong's house so he could not see
that I was on the verge of tears, I pleaded "It is ten metres
away. I can manage. Please just let me go."
His voice deepened as he spoke "Medusa. Come home."
"It is not mine though, is it?" I asked before pointing out
"You are paying for it so it is yours."
Stone shook his head "It is yours until you decide it is ours."
I opened the door, and I stepped out. I wiped my eyes when
I was not facing him. I then turned back and lingered at the
truck door.
"Thank you." I quietly let out.
"I can't do this. Fuck." He cursed before he punched the
steering wheel "What do you want me to do? What do you
expect me to do?"
"I guess we do what everyone else does." I replied in a timid
tone and held back a sniffle "We move on."
"So, you expect me to act like you are not my whole world?"
He raised his voice as he ran his hand through his hair and
made his muscles bulge out "You expect me to act like I
would not kill to put a smile on your face?"
I could not muster up a reply.
He leaned across the console so he was closer when he
spoke indefatigably "I will be back for you. Do not doubt
that."
It slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it “Bye Lurch."
Stone's obsidian eyes widened infinitesimally before he
smiled "You called me Lurch."
I did not say anything more. I just focused on trying to pull
myself away from the truck and away from him.
"I am keeping you forever." He promised like it was
inescapable "Nothing is going to stop that. There is nothing
you can do about it."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Two
The ice cream parlour was quiet. The only sound in the
place was little Charlie next to me humming while he played
with his new deck of cards that he had won at an arcade
game.
He was shuffling them and asking me to chose a card. I did
what he said and then he shuffled them again.
The little boy picked up a random card and showed me it
with a grin "Is this your card?"
"Yes. It is." I lied
Charlie cheered "I am the best magician there ever was."
"Yeah." I agreed before winking at Lana "I am sure if Penn
and Teller decide to make their duo into a three then they
will come right your way."
Lana was sitting on the other side of the booth and it gave
her the perfect view to frown at me "I can not believe we
are here. You should be resting, Ella."
I shrugged while picking another card from Charlie "I did not
get out of a hospital bed to go and lie in an another bed.
Fresh air will be good for me."
"You are inside!"
"The last time I checked the air in here was not rotten." I
rebutted while taking another bit of my mint chocolate chip
ice cream "I would rather just get on with things. I do not
want to be in bed just lying around thinking about stuff. I will
only drive myself crazy."
She did not look happy with my answer as she argued "You
should be resting. You were in a serious accident then
unconscious for days. Also you just lost your father."
"You were in an accident?" Charlie asked from beside me,
his bottom lip trembling and his eyes starting to water
"Drizzy was hurt?"
"Of course not." I lied to the small boy while picking him up
and putting him on my lap.
I patted his back until he stopped crying and then I moved
my ice cream bowl closer to him
"Here. Do you want the rest of my ice cream?" I asked
rhetorically.
My words seemed to do the trick because he smiled and
nodded his head "Yay!"
Lana still did not look any less annoyed.
She started explaining with her hands moving around in the
air "You can not just act like nothing has happened."
"I am not doing that."
She argued "Yes. You are."
"I just want everything to go back to the way it was."
Her blue eyes widened as she spoke "Everything except you
and Stone?"
I stayed quiet.
"I was wrong." Lana admitted, "I should not have said what I
said about him."
All I could do was shrug at her "You were wrong about what
you said. I did not end things because of that though. I have
my own reasons."
"Oh no." She exclaimed, "You are pulling an Ella."
My mouth opened and then closed before I sputtered "What
the hell is that?"
"It is your signature move." She explained "Every time you
get hurt or you are upset then you shut everybody out.
Something bad happens and then it is like you build your
walls up so high that nobody can get in. You think secluding
yourself away from everything and going into your own little
shell will stop everyone else from sharing your pain."
"I-I do not do that."
Lana's head went to the side as she vocalised "When your
mom passed away, you did not speak to me for two weeks.
You did not speak to anyone."
Maybe I did do that.
"He is better off without me." I told her about "He deserves
—"
"Stop, Ella. You deserve happiness too" She scolded.
I shook my head because I was not going to change my
mind.  Not even when that was all I wanted to do.
I was so unhappy. Everything felt so confusing. I had no idea
what was right and what was wrong. Nothing made sense.
"What is with your sudden change of heart about your
thoughts on Stone?" I asked with curiosity.
"I know that I said that stuff at the hospital and it was way
out of line. I was just trying to be the strong one for once. I
am terrible at it." She explained "You are the one that is
strong. Not me. You have been looking out for me pretty
much my whole life. I tried to think about what you would do
if I was still dating an illegal street fighter and I felt lied to
and betrayed."
I smiled at her sadly "If you did have a boyfriend like that
then I would kick his ass."
Her giggle was almost a snort "I am sorry but I cannot say I
would do the same. There is no way I would go up against
Stone."
"He is a good guy, Lana."
"He is the best guy for you." She said, "That is why it is such
a shame that you are pushing him away."
"It is not as easy as that though." I mentioned "We kind of
started this wager where I have three days to give a real
reason why we should break up."
"Only you two would do something as crazy as that."
"I have until midnight on Friday to come up with a good
reason why we should break up." I further elaborated "I am
not changing my mind. He should not be with me."
"So if you lose then what do you have to give him?" She
questioned.
"Me forever. Apparently."
"That is just like something out of a film." She gushed and
then asked, "Do you really believe that if you do win that he
is going to just give up and leave?"
I looked away "He will give up."
"He is not going to just give up." Lana told me like it was a
statement rather than an opinion "I think he will fight for
you. No matter how long it takes."
Glaring at her dreamy expression, I pointed out "I am
planning to win. You are meant to be Team Ella."
"I am Team Ella." She responded with but then her
expression went sheepish as she started tapping her phone
"Yet I do not support your decision to be here. You should
not be out and about. You should be in bed!"
Charlie was still on my lap as he sat and ate the remainder
of my ice cream.
Once he had finished the whole bowl, he then grinned at me
"Does that mean you can be my girlfriend, Drizzy?"
"Of course it does." I replied while laughing at his cute little
face.
Charlie got bored and started looking around the place. Just
like the rest of the pier, the ice cream parlour was decorated
in Halloween decorations. All things from orange and purple
string to different spooky figures around the place.
His chubby finger pointed to the back of the shop "Look at
the witch!"
"Did you know a long time ago in some places, girls were
not allowed to wear lipstick because boys thought witches
wore it to make them fall in love?"
"Really?" He looked up at me in amazement before
motioning to the ghost statue  in the middle of the room
"What about ghosts?"
A ghost fact comes to mind and I voiced it "I read this
research paper where fifty random people who had claimed
to have seen a ghost, all said that the ghosts loved the
smell of lemons. That means that ghosts love lemonade."
"That is silly!" Charlie exclaimed with a laugh.
Lana looked bewildered "How do you know all of this?"
"I just read a lot. I guess." I shrugged.
Charlie was now looking over my shoulder in the direction of
the front door to the shop as he asked "Do you know any
facts about giants?"
"Where do you see a giant?" I asked curiously because I had
not seen one on my way into the store.
I turned my head around and what I saw made my eyes
widen.
"I know when a giant looks like that then he is about get
very mad at people that have green hair and are called
Ella." I voiced as I began to hide in my seat.
Stone sat down next to me. He was glaring at the table as
he occupied the whole space of the booth. His face was hard
and his jaw was clenched. It was scary how mad he looked.
He met my eye and what I saw was that his face was
expressionless. Like he was holding back his fury.
"Fancy meeting you here." I nervously made a joke.
He did not answer. He glared and it gave away everything
that he obviously wanted to say.
Charlie spoke up from his place on my lap "Big Giant Man,
Ella says that she is my girlfriend now."
Big Giant Man as the little boy had called him was now
glowering at the back of the small human's head.
My attention goes went to Stone who was watching me
unfalteringly.
I shrugged and attempted to smile at him "You did not
specifically say I could not go anywhere."
"You were in an accident. You are hurt." He snarled "I have
made it clear enough that I do not want you on your feet.
Was it not a large enough hint when I said that I needed to
carry you out of the car this morning?."
"Not really." I deadpanned "I have a small feeling that if you
had your way then I would always be carried around by you
or in your arms somewhat."
"Damn right you would be." He gritted out, his jaw ticking.
Looking anywhere but him, I reassured "I promise you that I
am okay. I just needed some air. I have been in that hospital
room for days."
"Ella." He growled in warning.
I exaggerated a growl back "Stone."
He rested his arm behind me and leaned closer so I could
feel how harsh and deliberate his words were.
"You are injured." He spoke, his dark voice deepening "If I
have to haul you over my shoulder, drag you back and chain
you to the bed until you get better then you better fucking
believe that is what I am about to do."
I should not have found that attractive.
I stole a glance at his lips that were set in their usual semi-
permanent scowl.
Lana stood up from her seat in the booth and let out a
hurried noise "Charlie, lets go and get some more ice
cream."
Charlie let out a happy cheer before Stone picked him up
from my lap and then deposited him on the ground.
The small boy and the blonde girl ran off to the ice cream
parlour's counter while faced the fiery wrath of the giant.
Stone scrubbed a hand along his face before he voiced
"What are you doing, Medusa?"
"It is none of your..." I began but then stopped.
I could not even finish my sentence because it did not sit
well on my tongue.
He chuckled darkly "Finish that sentence."
I rolled my eyes at him and at the fact that I had
subconsciously moved closer to him. Close enough to see
how many emotions swirled around in the obsidian eyes.
"How did you know I was here?" I asked
"Lana." He answered while still appearing seconds away
from picking my body up and locking me away.
I sat in silence and wondered why Lana had told him that I
was here.
"I am pissed off." He stated as his gravelly voice deepened.
"When are you ever not pissed off?" I challenged him while
watching his furious expression.
His jaw ticked a few times before he retorted "When you are
happy and healthy."
"I am happy. I am having ice cream" I argued "Not so
healthy though because I have had four scoops."
Continuing to glower at me, he repeated himself "Go home.
You are meant to be on bed rest."
"I don't want to."
"I don't care." He said with a tone of warning "I am taking
you back."
"No. You are not."
"Ella" He grumbled again, obviously furious at my
stubbornness.
"I can not just sit there." I explained while looking up at him
"I can not just sit and think about everything. I will drive
myself insane."
"You are driving me insane."
I tried to think of something that would make him leave. I
took the last resort and decided that the option I was about
to do was worth a try.
I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout and widened my eyes to
give him a puppy dog look.
My lip trembling did not even get a chance to start because
I ceased what I was doing when he narrowed his eyes at me.
Stone cursed under his breath.
"You cheat, Ella." He growled again and I could feel his voice
vibrate through me.
"Please just leave me."
"I am never leaving you." He stated and waited a minute
before he added begrudgingly "I will let you make your own
way back but you better be going straight to bed."
"Thanks. How kind of you" I muttered sarcastically while
ignoring my stomach doing somersaults at the first part of
his previous statement.
"You could have died." He raised his voice as he said it and I
could feel him start to shake "I could have lost you. You are
lucky that I am letting you leave my sight ever again."
I could see how worked up he was so I decided not to argue
verbally.
"Medusa, you are going back."
"Yeah. Okay." I fibbed.
Lana and Charlie walked back over and that was when I
stood up to meet them. I looked back over my shoulder and
seen the dark eyes watching my every move.
It took all my energy to draw my gaze away from him and
for me to tell Lana "Lets go."
We walked along the pier. Away from the ice cream parlour
and away from him. Lana held on to my arm like I was going
to fall over at any moment. Charlie ran in front while waving
his arms around like an aeroplane.
I turned to Lana and asked, "Why did you tell Stone?"
"Because you should not be on your feet!" She erupted and
then she softened her words as she talked again "He is so
worried about you. We all are."
I shook my head while I looked at the sea "Can we go and
grab some stuff from my apartment?"
Her eyes almost popped out of her head as she spluttered
"You can not be serious."
"I just need to grab a few things."
We were almost at the start of the promenade when she let
out a sigh and she spoke again.
"Stone is not going to be happy about this." She vocalised
and there was almost a hint of fear in her tone.
"He does not have to know."
She tilted her head while agreeing "Fine. Just to get your
stuff and then we will head straight back or else I will call
Stone again."
"Traitor." I murmured as we turned onto one of the streets
taking us away from the beach.
My whole body was hurting. It was mostly my legs that felt
strained. The hill up to my apartment was a challenge but I
just tried to breathe through it because I did not want Lana
making a fuss.
I unlocked the door to the apartment and stepped in while
dreading what feeling would come with it.
Charlie ran past the both of us and jumped on the sofa.
Lana looked around as I stared at the carpet and focused on
anything except the sensation in my throat and my
stomach.
The place had started to feel like home but now that was
feeling was gone.
The small boy called from the other side of the room as he
swung his legs "I am bored."
Walking over to him, I unlocked my phone and passed it to
him "You can play on my phone until I have packed some of
my things."
Lana and I made our war through to my room. I tried to keep
my attention centred on the floor while she gawked at the
walls of my bedroom.
"He painted all four of your walls green." Lana pointed out
before she questioned, "Is that not too overpowering?"
I studied my fairytale green walls and had the urge to break
down.
"You would think so but it is not." I shook my head with a
small smile "It is perfect."
She nodded understandingly "I will pack some clothes for
you. You get what else you want to take."
"Okay." I quietly let out.
Her whole body stilled as she took in the sight of the
unmade bed. She turned around with a sheepish look on her
face.
"Is there any love zones that I should avoid?" She asked
with a red face.
"Love zones?" I repeated while my own face started to heat
up.
"Is there?" She questioned while glancing at the headboard
"Apart from the obvious."
"No." I said instead of the truth.
I was not going to tell her that she should not touch any
wall, floor or other surface of the apartment. I was not going
to tell her that she should probably just wait outside.
I sat on the bed and attempted not to think about anything
else than what I was needing to take. I threw my school stuff
into a bag and some books while I focused on the job at
hand.
Lana was busy filling another bag with a few days worth of
clothes when she looked around and whispered "Do you
hear voices?"
Staying quiet for ten seconds, I answered "No."
She shrugged before picking up the bag of clothes "I will go
and see if Charlie is fine."
When she left, I moved myself from the bed and onto the
floor. I brought my chest to my knees and took deep
breaths. The walls did not seem as bright or the right exact
shade of green as I stared at them. I closed my eyes after a
while and let my head fall back onto the bed.
When I opened them again, I noticed something sticking out
from under the bed so I reached out and grabbed it. Pete
the Second was lying there on the ground. The stuffed
panda that Stone had won for me after I went on the Ferris
wheel with him.
I sat the stuffed animal on my knees and bit my shaking lip
before I eventually picked myself up from the floor and
dropped the panda onto the bed. I picked up my bag and
got ready to go.
Footsteps came from the door so as I zipped the bag with
my school supplies, I did not bother to look at who was
there before I spoke "I will be there in a second. I hope you
never found any love zones."
I turned around and my eyes widened at who was standing
there.
The person standing there took up the whole space of the
doorway. His head hung slightly low because if he rose to his
full height then he would hit the top of the wood with his
head. He had his hand leaning on the door and by the way
his veins bulged, he was holding on tightly. His obsidian
eyes were trained on my bag with a scowl.
"How did you know?" I started playing with a strand of my
hair to distract myself from going to him.
"You are the worst liar." He mentioned with a scary frown "I
called you to make sure you were heading back and it was
the boy who answered."
I raised a brow "Charlie?"
Stone nodded and his fist lightly tapped the wall in a rhythm
"He answered. Told me you were packing your things."
"It is for the best." I gulped after saying it because I did not
think my lungs were working properly "Please just leave me
alone. I am just trying to make this easier."
"Easier for who?" He retaliated in his demanding tone.
Running a hand through my hair and pulling it back from my
shoulders, I walked over to the door with my bag in hand
"You need to let me go. I can't—"
He stopped me from leaving the room as his wide shoulders
blocked my path. His large hand reached out and brushed
over my face. He moved a green strand of hair behind my
ear before his thumb flicked over my lip.
"I love you. Relentlessly." He rasped out "I am not going
anywhere."
Silence fell between us. All I could hear was the sound of my
heavy breathing and if it was possible then the sound of my
heart breaking.
He did not budge from his stance at the door. If anything
then he appeared to stand up taller and both his hands
clutched each side of the doorframe more strongly.
"Has anyone ever told you that you would make a great
bodyguard?" I remarked while peering up at him.
"Yes."
I bit my lip to stop from smiling.
The need to be close to him was so overwhelming that I
could not linger there any longer. I did not even have to
duck to get under his arm and walk right past him and into
the living room.
Lana and Charlie arid up when they saw me. However, their
attention did not stay in my direction for long as they
watched over my shoulder.
"I have everything I need." I lied "I am ready to go."
The three of us made our way downstairs but Stone still
followed behind. By the way that he slammed the door
behind him was a sign that he was still furious.
It was when we exited the building that Stone looked around
before exploding in rage "You walked."
"I am fine." I argued.
He saw right through my act because in one step he was
right in front of me while scolding in a low deadly tone.
"Is that why every step you are wincing? Is that why you are
rubbing your arms over your marks right now? Is that why
your eyes look glassed over like you are about to cry?"
I instantly dropped my arms to my side and looked up at his
worried face.
"That is none of your concern." I said cruelly in hopes that
he would leave.
Stone did not like my words.
Viciously yet gently, he hooked his arm around my waist
and then placed me over his shoulder effortlessly.
I was about to protest to him but the look of ferocity and
savagery in his eyes silenced me.
Charlie ran over to where we were and looked up grinning
while handing Stone my phone "Is it high up there, Drizzy?"
I did not reply because I was too busy matching the glare
Stone gave me. I could only send it to the back of his head
because as much as I kicked my feet in the air he would not
let me down.
"I will be taking her back." He said to Lana before he rated
his large hand on my back and spoke to me "I am going to
make fucking sure that you go back this time."
Lana looked between us and tried to hide the small amused
smile growing on her face.
"I need to drop Charlie back home and he only lives a few
blocks from here." She excused "You two just go ahead. I will
see you back at mine."
"He is going to kill me." I pointed down at Stone in faux
horror.
He did not deny it. He just walked over to his truck and set
me down before opening the passenger door and helping
me in. He then went to his side and started the engine
without a word.
A few blocks later and then he eventually spoke up, his
voice not as strong as before "Why are you doing this?"
I was doing it because I was a mess and not nearly good
enough. I did not deserve his efforts.
"Medusa, speak to me." He pleaded yet it sounded more like
a command as his rough voice rang out among the space of
the car.
I looked at his dishevelled state and then when it became
too much, I stared out the window at the passing city.
"I do not need to give you a reason why until tomorrow. That
is what we agreed. Three days." I reminded him.
"I tried to give you space." He declared while his grip on the
steering wheel tightened "I almost crushed my phone to
stop myself from calling you so I could give you time. Then
you go and do this."
"It does not matter" I whispered to myself
"This," He stated, his input harsh and an unbreakable
promise "This is not over."
Stone was kind of like a Trojan Horse in a sense. He was
large and screamed danger yet I underestimated how big of
a threat he was. He had fought past my walls and he had
taken down the barrier I had put up around myself. I did not
know if I could rebuild myself without him.
He had conquered me and if I was not careful then he was
going to do it again.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Three
"I am finished!" I exclaimed while throwing my hands up in
the air and giving my fingers a break from hitting the
keyboard of my laptop.
Since Stone had dropped me off, I had been typing nonstop.
It was a good distraction.
It turned out a good way to escape a world full of pain was
to write a new world.
Lana shook her head at me with a small smile "I can not
believe you have wrote a whole book in two days."
"Not really." I argued but I could not help but feel slightly
proud of myself "I have had the idea stuck in my head for a
year now. It just took me two days to write it all down."
She rolled her eyes while sitting at the bottom of her bed
"So what did you finally come up with for the ending?"
The ending of the book took the longest time to write but I
eventually got there. Some things just needed time.
Throwing myself back onto Lana's neon pink pillows, I
answered her "The whole book is more of a sci-fi fantasy
human experiment set in space. It is all metaphorical for the
nature of human beings so I left the ending open. I hate cliff
hangers as a reader but writing them are so fun. I feel kind
of evil leaving the ending where it is."
Her blue eyes blinked a few times before she replied "I love
you but you should know that I might not finish reading your
book for like two years."
I laughed at her "I was not expecting you to. I do not expect
anyone would want to read it."
"Loads of people will want to read it. You need to give
yourself more credit." She scolded "You have worked really
hard on this."
"I do not know what to do now." I admitted, "Now I have
finished it, is it just going to live in my drafts?"
Lana grinned in encouragement "Send it to some
publishers."
"I can not do that!"
"Why not?" She questioned.
Shaking my head at her hopeful gaze, I explained "I have
wrote the book but I can not just send it away. It is not even
edited."
"No doubt that you checked it as you went." She argued
before she mentioned, "Does publishers not have teams of
editors to handle this sort of stuff?"
"I am not sending anything away. I can't." I assured.
"Why not?" She crossed her arms and tilted her head "Are
you scared?"
She was provoking me into sending it away. I knew exactly
what she was trying to do and I was falling for it anyway.
"I am not scared."
Lana mouthed "Sure."
Scowling at her one last time, I put my laptop back on my
thigh and started searching for a list of book publishers. I
got up from the bed and scavenged for a pen and paper
before I started to make a list of emails and details for
different companies.
I then took my time to write an email before adding several
publishing email addresses to the recipient box. Some
companies sounded familiar and some did not but I added
them all.
I read over my email again and then the panic of realisation
hit me "I can not do this!"
"Yes you can." She argued, "What is there to lose?"
Sitting back so I was leaning against her headboard, I sighed
"Only my dignity."
She rolled her eyes. Then before I could blink, she grabbed
my laptop and clicked on the mousepad once. The little
arrow had clicked on the send button.
A small scream left my mouth before I covered it in shock. I
froze for a second before I grabbed a pillow and threw it at
Lana.
She turned the laptop around and showed me the screen
where the email draft was no longer there. It is too late for
any takebacks.
Before I could even plan on suffocating her with a pillow,
Mrs Armstrong walked in and studied my shocked face and
Lana's gleeful one.
"What happened?" The middle-aged woman asked, "Why
does Ella look like she is contemplating homicide?"
Lana replied, "I sent the book Ella wrote to about fifty
publishers."
"That is great!" Mrs Armstrong cheered.
I reached for another pillow and covered my face with it
then let out a groan "What if they hate it?"
Mrs Armstrong leaned against the door "Then who cares?
Loads of writers get setbacks in their career. You can not
just hold back and wonder what if."
"I guess you are right." I said quietly.
Switching her attention from me to her daughter, Mrs
Armstrong voiced "Your dad and I decided to postpone our
trip. I know that you are probably not going to—"
With a wave of her hands, Lana cut her off "I have not told
her yet."
"Told me what?" I asked her then I questioned the woman at
the door "Were you planning on going on vacation?"
Mrs Armstrong replied first "We were just going to go away
for the weekend so the house was free but it is fine. We
would much rather be here for you."
"I am okay." I reassured both of them for the fiftieth time
today "I just want everything to keep going as normal."
Lana frowned "Mom and dad were leaving so the house was
free. I planned you a Halloween birthday party but that is
not what you need right now."
"Maybe a party would be good." I said while keeping my
voice deliberately strong "A Halloween one, that is. I do not
want anything for my birthday."
Mrs Armstrong smiled but she did not look convinced "Ella,
you have just lost your dad. It is still new. The funeral has
not even past yet."
"I do not want to dwell on everything." I voiced "I will say
my goodbyes at his funeral on Thursday and then I will feel
much better. Everything will go back to normal."
"Are you sure?" Lana asked, still unsure.
Nodding again, I sent a pleading look to Mrs Armstrong
"Please go on your trip. It would make me feel worse if I
knew I was holding you back."
The room went silent for a while and then Lana stood up
from her bed and walked to the door.
She turned back as she reached the door and said "I will go
and get us some snacks because we are going to watch
some trash TV and stuff our faces."
Once she had left, I was back to randomly hitting buttons on
my laptop. I had nothing to distract myself from thinking
about him. I had not stopped thinking about Stone since he
left but the book had kept me busy.
I shook my head and released a breath as I typed in the two
words to the search engine. It came up with a few results
but I clicked the first one.
The background of the website was black with gold writing
in the corner reading Litora Bello. I scrolled past the
information about the details of the upcoming fight. The
final of the season read as Vulcan versus Somnus.
I put it to the back of my mind because thinking about how
the other guy had to be just as good a fighter as Stone to be
in the final scared me.
I eventually got to a collection of videos. They were all
different highlights of fights. I opened up the first one I saw
with the name Vulcan in the title.
The dramatic music played over the fight. I watched as
Stone and some other guy circled each other before they
both struck. The fighter that I did not care about made the
first move and it was a quick jab to the face. It did not affect
Stone but it was enough to make me gasp.
I noticed that Stone was slow to react at first. It was almost
as if he was trying to drag it out for theatrical reasons. Then
he moved fast and deadly like a cobra. He landed a blow on
his opponent's ribs before making the final punch to his
face. It was powerful enough to break the other guy's nose
and maybe his whole face by the looks of the brutality of
the blow. The video moved in slow motion as the blood
splattered onto the sand and the guy fell to the ground.
After that video finished, I clicked on the next one and
watched as the same thing happened. Stone let the other
guy get a few hits on him before fighting back brutally and
mercilessly.
Lana walked in with a packet of gummy bears then she sat
down next to me. She looked at the screen then at me.
I bit a gummy bears head off before glancing at her.
"Is it bad that I find him fighting really hot?" I asked
shamefully "I do not think he has lost any of these fights."
She giggled "You are so not winning this wager that you two
have."
"It was never about this." I said while motioning to the
screen.
Watching the fight, she tilted her head "I know that guy."
"Who?" I raised a brow at her before looking to see what the
name of Stone's opponent was "Bacchus?"
"His name is Hendrix Jones." Lana mentioned while still
being transfixed by the screen "He thinks of himself as
rockstar. He had that song out that went viral for being too
explicit called I want to pop your cherry."
I eyed the mystery guy in the video. He did look familiar. He
was brown-haired and quite tall. Obviously not as tall as
Stone because he was not the height of the Empire State
Building.
The very distinctive thing about the guy that Lana was
watching intriguingly on the screen was the large scar
across his eye.
"It is funny to think that you thought you would end up with
some nerdy guy." Lana changed the subject quickly "How
did you describe your future husband again?"
"Curly hair and glasses. A cute little nerd." I laughed
because I compared that to Stone who could never be
described as cute.
"And you are crazy for a guy that..." Lana laughed before
trailing off.
I continued for her "Looks like someone you would not want
to meet in a dark alleyway? Looks like someone that should
be on a poster for the death penalty so criminals are
deterred from committing a crime?"
She nodded while holding back a smile "Yeah."
We decided to put on some cringe romance comedy film but
I could not keep up with the storyline. My mind was
somewhere else.
It was only when Lana lifted a finger and wiped away a tear
in my eye that I noticed I was crying.
"I am not crying." I attempted to lie while wiping away my
tears "Like I told you when we watched the notebook, I am
allergic to your bedsheets."
Lana put her arm around me and pulled me to her so that
my head rested on her shoulder. I stayed there and watched
the rest of the movie through blurred vision.
I started to feel my eyes get heavier just when something
made a buzzing noise. I sat up and looked around for the
source of the noise.
My phone on the bedside cabinet was lit up with the name
Lurch.
I picked up the phone and stared at it motionlessly. I
glanced at the time that read exactly midnight.
"Answer it." Lana nudged me.
Watching until the call stopped, I shook my head "I can't."
"Why not?" She frowned "You need to stop torturing
yourself."
"If I answer then I will miss him more that I already do." I
told her before muttering "If that is even possible."
Lana looked at the phone "You have a message from him."
The screen was still lit up with a phone call from him.
I answered it. I brought the phone in my shaky hand to my
ear.
"Give me a reason." The gruff voice greeted me.
His words went over and over in my head.
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
"I need a reason why you are not in my arms right now." He
grumbled; his voice sounded too hoarse to be strong.
I could not speak. I did not know what to say.
"Three fucking days." He uttered hoarsely "That is all I can
do."
"You know that is not the case." I mumbled into the phone
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"A bet is a bet and I will win." His voice broke as delivered
his sentence "I want my girl back. I want my Ella back."
My eyes closed and I let out a shaky breath.
"I'm really tired." I said into the phone.
A deep sigh left him before he instructed sternly "Please go
to bed and rest."
"Okay." I replied quietly.
"I love you." He rasped out before he ended the line.
I threw the phone onto the bed and covered my face with
my hands.
I felt sick and I felt nauseous. I felt dizzy. It was like I was
being pulled in so many directions that I did not know what
was up and what was down. I did not know what was right
or what was wrong.
Lana took a look at the phone then she focused back on me
and asked "What is the matter?"
"He thinks that my side of the bet is a Sisyphean one."
She adjusted herself so she was facing me before she
questioned "You really expect me to understand what that
means?"
"Sisyphus was this man that betrayed the gods so he was
sent to the underworld. His punishment was that he had to
roll a massive boulder up a hill but every time he got up
there then the wind would roll it back down. A Sisyphean
challenge can not be completed." I gave her a quick
explanation before I revealed "He thinks that he has already
won."
Her eyes met mine and she tilted her to the side as she
watched my tear-streaked face.
"Has he not?" She asked.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Five
Lana leaned to the side so she could whisper "He is going to
result to locking you up."
Stone had started a new approach which was to not speak
to me. I did not know if his silence was a part of some sort
of plan but if I could take a guess then it was probably
because he was so enraged that I showed up at school.
I could feel the classroom walls close around me. All I could
feel was his stormy gaze on the back of my neck. It was so
heated that it sent shivers down my spine. It was enough to
make me sit straight up in my chair.
It had not faltered since I had stepped foot in Mr
Dankworth's classroom. It was pretty obvious that me
coming to school had pushed him too far and he was now
livid.
As the lesson continued, I finally turn around and faced his
thunder-like expression and I asked "How did you know that
I was planning to come to school?"
His fist that was resting on the desk clenched and
unclenched but he did not reply.
"Yesterday, he seen that you had a bag with all of your
school stuff. We did not think you would actually come
though." Brennan's attention flickered between him and me
and then he spoke again "You should be at home."
I forced myself to turn back around in my seat when I
replied "Not you as well, Brennan."
That morning, Lana was not happy when I was up dressed
and ready to go to school. However after an hour of arguing
she finally caved.
I wanted to press on with things and keep going. I was
hopeful but I was also practical and that is why I took the
pain medication that Mrs Lewis gave me so the discomfort
was easier. It only helped a little.
Nothing more was said. Lana and I chatted between
ourselves until the end of the period bell rang. The noise
made everyone stand up and hurry out of the room to get to
the cafeteria for lunch.
"Remember everyone that I want you to be revising your
notes." Mr Dankworth called and then added "Ella, can I
have a word with you please?"
I walked with Lana to the front of the class and nodded at
her in reassurance as she walked out the door.
Stone hesitated at the doorway and I could feel his eyes on
me yet I did not meet his gaze.
He left after ten seconds but by the way, his shoulders
slumped it was begrudgingly.
"Is everything okay, Mr Dankworth?" I asked once
everybody had left the room.
The old teacher did not say a word when he walked around
his desk and embraced me in a hug. I put my arms around
him after the shock of what was happening dulled down.
Mr Dankworth pulled back and smiled then motioned for me
to sit down. So I did. I jumped up on the desk at the front of
the classroom and sat crossed leg on the wood.
"Are you feeling any better?" He asked while concern filed
his old features.
I nodded and put on a smile "It is getting better."
"I tried to come and visit you at the hospital." He admitted
before explaining "I even lied and said that I was your
godfather but they told me there were too many people
already in your room. There was one person that was not
willing to leave his place at your side."
My smile dropped and I did not have the energy to put it
back on my face.
"That was really nice of you." I managed to keep my voice
light as I spoke "Very special treatment for just your
student."
"Ella, I have been teaching for fifty years and I can say
without a doubt that you are my favourite student of all
time." He informed with a grin "Ever since you first came
strolling into my classroom and told me all about your
theory that Lewis Carroll was Jack the Ripper because of two
anagrams that you found were similar."
I let out a laugh "I do not think you are allowed to say that I
am your favourite student."
He grinned again but then it fell as he looked to have
remembered something "You and Stone were not arguing
about books or anything today. Is everything okay?"
"We are not together anymore." I responded quietly.
"What!" Mr Dankworth's jaw dropped then he gently went
on to ask  "I can only assume that it was you that called it
off. There is no way on earth that he would do such a thing.
What happened?"
"I—" I began but he cut me off.
"Is this about Litora Bello?"
Gaping at him, I questioned "You know about Litora Bello?"
"Of course." He said while taking a seat at his desk "I should
really thank that young man. I have won a hundred dollars
betting on him."
"It was not about that. I just—" I tried again.
"Is it because you two are slightly opposites from each
other?" Mr Dankworth was eager to talk before me because
his words were rushed out like he could not contain his
restlessness "You have met my husband before. Him and I
are very different. Do not tell him but I resent him a little for
favouring movies over books. However I love him and I take
him as he is."
I commented while laughing "What a monster."
He quickly changed back to the topic on hand "What is it
that holds you back?"
"It is hard to explain." I muttered before I gave him an
analogy "Think of it as Les Misérables. I am Jean Valjean and
Stone is the bread. He is a necessity. He is my lifeline but if I
take him then that is only going to lead to trouble. None of
the conflicts would have happened in the Victor Hugo book
if the main character did not take the bread."
"That is one of the most wonderful yet weirdest analogies I
have ever heard." He laughed before he evaluated "So you
are trying to say that you are putting yourself through a
hard time to avoid having to face it in the future. You are
breaking your own heart now to stop yourself from getting
your heart broke in the future."
"Exactly." I sighed
"You are not in the French Revolution. Nor are you in a
book." He smiled at me sadly as he spoke "The only person
dictating your story is you, Ella."
We fell into silence until I stood up and walked to the door.
I turned back and told him "I will not be at school tomorrow.
It is my dad's funeral."
"I am very sorry for your loss."
I nodded once and then swiftly changed the subject "I
probably will not come in Friday either. It is my birthday and
I think Lana and I are going to call in and pretend to be
sick."
Mr Dankworth smiled "My present to you is that I will not tell
the principal."
"Thank you." I said as I matched his warm grin before
walking to the door.
"Ella." The old man called before I could leave.
Turning back around, I tilted my head "Yeah?"
"I am your kindred spirit but I am not your soulmate." He
chuckled while referencing my inside joke with Lana "Your
soulmate is the one who makes you feel at home. Who
challenges you and loves you for who you are. The one that
will never give up on you."
Embarrassed about the last thing he said, I rush out the
door with an awkward laugh.
I exited the classroom and found Lana leaning against the
wall waiting for me.
"You did not have to wait for me." I mentioned while we
started to walk along the corridor.
"It was either me or Stone." She stated before letting out a
small sound of amusement "His words. Not mine."
I kept quiet as I was not sure how to reply to that.
Lana picked up on my awkwardness and tried to steer the
conversation away from him "I have got all the decorations
for your birthday planned out."
"We agreed a Halloween party." I scolded her "I do not want
anything birthday based. No birthday balloons. No birthday
banners—"
"No birthday cake?" She questioned with a mischievous
smile.
"Of course I want cake!" I blurted out "What kind of question
is that?"
She giggled and I joined in with her laughter until we both
stopped as we got closer to the lunch hall.
"I have to ask..." She said before trailing off.
"What?"
"Do you want to be with him?" Lana asked slowly and
tenderly before she then went on to threaten "If you do not
then I do not care how freaking scary he is, I will tell Stone
to go away."
As much as I would love to see that, I decided to be honest
with her "I do. I really, really do. I just cannot."
"Then you need to understand that I really, really want him
to win this bet that you two have because I want you
happy." She expressed to me "He makes you happy."
I changed the subject "Would you really tell him to go away
if I asked."
She stayed quiet the sighed "Well..."
"I do not think he is one to mess with today." I mentioned
while laughing "He has not been in the best mood lately. He
has been even more irrationally angry."
"Of course he is acting irrationally." She replied "He can see
that you are hurting and you are not letting him be there for
you. Also he sees that you are trying to leave him."
I did not say anything else as we both crossed the cafeteria.
The two males were already seated at our normal table. The
only abnormal thing was Brennan had taken my seat.
I was both devastated and relieved. I could avoid my skin
brushing against his skin but with the giant sitting opposite
me then I could not run away from his gaze.
Stone was watching me from his seat. I was trying not to
meet his eye but it was pretty much impossible. His irises
were like two black holes. They were sucking me in and
imprisoning me.
I stole a glance at him before I sat down.
Silence hung in the air between us and the tension could be
cut with a knife. I watched as Lana fiddled with her sleeve
and Brennan looked between Stone and me.
The large man across the table was still focused on me and
the small gleam in his eyes almost looked like longing.
Brennan coughed and decided to fill the quietness "I am
genuinely scared Stone is going to forget that it is not Ella
next to him and he starts trying to touch my leg."
All of the things I thought I saw in Stone's expression was
now completely gone as he sent a glare Brennan's way.
A new voice spoke as I felt someone sit down next time. The
blonde invader forced my body to move closer to Lana to
make room for her.
Surprisingly, Lacey who was obviously there for her own
agenda addressed me "I am really sorry to hear about your
dad."
I raised an eyebrow at her "Thank—"
She did not keep her focus my way for any longer. The
blonde girl started to speak across the table. At Stone. It
was pretty clear that she had wanted him for a while but I
did not think she would move as quickly as she did.
My stomach dropped at the thought of them. I kept my eyes
trained on my hands that were resting on my lap. I tried to
tune out of the conversation. I really did not want to sit and
listen to their conversation and think about the possibility of
Stone moving on.
Lana nudged me with her elbow before she leant close and
whispered "Are you really not going to stop this? She is
shamelessly flirting."
I shrugged, twiddling my thumbs "I have no right to be
jealous."
That did not mean that I was not.
Stone was not looking at her though. His undivided attention
was on me.
Minutes passed and Stone and I were still in a heated eye
lock. During this time, Lacey kept talking but his stare was
fixed on me and not once did it move.
Whispering in my ear, Lana asked "Do you think she likes
him?"
"I don't know." I tried to sound unbothered but it came out
more sad than I intended it to be "There is only one way to
found out."
"How?"
I announced "The belly button theory."
"Oh no. Not one of your theories." She groaned "What is it?"
"The belly button gives away everything. It is the centre of
you and it gravities towards the person you like most." I
explained in a hushed voice "It is all about the body
language. Your body naturally turns to the person you desire
the most. The person you feel most comfortable with in the
room."
After I gave my theory to her, she leant forward so she could
look past me. I mirrored her stance and looked down near
where the girl who was too busy flirting's belly button
should have been.
Lacey noticed our staring at her stomach and she narrowed
her eyes at us "What are you two weirdos looking at?"
Both Lana and I sat back in our chairs at the same time and
acted like we were not studying her body language.
"Her belly button was not facing Stone." She shared her side
of the results of our test.
"No. It was not." I agreed, not adding that what I had found
out was that her body faced more towards the other male at
the table.
Her body gravitated towards Brennan who had not looked at
her once since she sat down.
I tapped my hands in a rhythm and attempted to ignore the
unwavering heat derived from the pair of eyes across the
table. The irises still did not stray away from mine as the
intruder spoke again.
That time I had to listen to what she had to say.
"Do you have a type?" Lacey asked while continuing to
exercise her finger by twirling it through her golden locks.
A growl was heard and surprisingly it did not come from
Stone.
"Lacey." Brennan said, his voice sounding like a warning.
The blonde girl went from flirty to an ice queen as she heard
Brennan speak. Her bluish grey eyes froze over like a lake
as she sent a glare as cold as glazier to him.
She ignored him and looked back to Stone before she asked
her questioned again "Do you have a type?"
Stone did not even bother to give her any attention when he
spoke one word "Ella."
"What?" The girl stumbled over her words, confused.
"Ella." He repeated.
Lana spat out the drink she had just taken and covered her
mouth to stop herself from laughing.
My heartbeat was pounding in my ears.
I ignored everyone else and whispered to Lana "I am going
to go and get some air."
She had already started to get up from her chair as she
insisted "I will come with you."
"No." I assured her while standing up "I will only be a few
minutes."
My body was on autopilot while drifting through the hallway
and away from the scene. Everything ached and I did not lie
to Lana when I said I needed air.
Stone might not have responded to Lacey's advances but it
was only a matter of time before he did get with someone
else.  I could not think about that. Let alone watch it.
I pushed through the double doors of the main entrance of
the school and then slumped down on the school steps.
In my peripheral vision, I could see someone sitting down
beside me. He watched me taking deep breaths in silence.
"Want to talk about it?" The quarterback asked.
Shaking my head, I kept looking ahead in the direction of
the parking lot as I muttered "Not really."
"I am sorry about your dad." He uttered softly.
I adjusted myself on the step so I was facing Chase. That is
when I got a good look at his face. His very bruised face. My
eyes widened at the massive dark mark of a bruise and the
small long pieces of tape at the bridge of his nose.
"You nose looks like a baboon's bottom." I commented
before I asked, "What happened?"
He chuckled while shaking his head at me "Your boyfriend
happened."
"Stone did this?"
Nodding, he looked almost sheepish when he admitted "I
kind of deserved it."
"What did you do?" I asked while leaning closer to see the
severity of the bruise and making myself a reminder to
confront Stone.
"It was my fault." He replied "I turned up to your hospital
room with flowers. Then I made a couple of comments."
"Is your face okay?" I asked while wincing "It really does
look bad."
"Thanks." He responded with sarcasm before explaining "He
knocked me out. It was a good thing I was at a hospital
when it happened. He managed to break my nose into
eighteen places in one-go."
Not knowing what to say, I randomly blurted out "What
flowers were they?"
He laughed at me before answering "Roses."
"I love roses." I told him because I felt kind of bad for him
and his face.
Chase frowned "I do not want you to hate me, Ella."
"I don't. I never did." I assured him honestly before adding "I
have to admit that you are not my favourite person in the
world."
His frown contorted to a small smile "I am sorry for
everything."
"I don't understand what changed." I admitted "You were
once nice to me. We got on really well and then everything
changed as soon as we came back to school."
"Everyone noticed how he never took his eyes off you as
soon he started Leavendale." He uttered and it was the
most vulnerable I had ever heard his voice "I noticed how
you looked at him too. It was not as noticeable but I could
see it."
"So you thought that you would announce to the whole
English class that we were sleeping together?" I asked, "Did
you want to mark your territory?"
"I did not want to be the joke of the school, Ella." He raised
his voice slightly as he spoke "Everyone knew that I liked
you and you were looking at someone else."
"So you think insulting me was the way to go about it?" I
questioned.
"I don't know." He shrugged "I was just mad."
I tilted my head as I pointed out "Before Stone, it was not
like we were really together."
Chase focused on something else in the faraway distance
like he could not meet my eye as he uttered "You were the
only person to care. All of my friends did not. You were the
only ever there for me when my mom up and left.
Sometimes, I just wanted to push you away because you
were the only person that I wanted to be there."
That all sounded way too familiar. It hit far too close to
home.
He spoke again "It keeps replaying in my head the thought
that if I stayed with you and if I drove you home that night
then you would not have got hurt. You would have been
okay and I—"
Cutting him off, I shook my head "It was not your fault,
Chase."
"I am sorry." He said and his expression was completely
apologetic.
"I am sorry, too."
"You are my only true friend, Ella." His lip moved up in a
small sheepish smile when he mumbled quietly "I need your
friendship."
"I would like to be your friend." I replied before I smiled
"What is it you do with your other friends? Fist-bump?"
Laughing, he made a fist and met me halfway as I bumped
mine onto his.
"If anyone asks you what happened to my face then it was
at football practise." He laughed as he told me "Also I don't
want people knowing I was in the hospital for it."
"Says the guy who I had to take to the emergency room
because he roundhouse kicked a beer bottle barefooted."
He looked around after our laughter died out and whatever
he had seen behind us made his eyes widened.
I already knew who to expect by the small flick of fear that
ran over Chase's face.
Even from afar, I could feel how tense he was. How
murderous his dark eyes were. How clenched his sharp jaw
was. How tightly his hands were balled into fists.
His stance screamed dominance and deadliness. I imagined
it was what a volcano would look like before destroying a
town and everything in its path.
"Go to him." Chase whispered "My face is too handsome to
be smashed. Again."
I stood up and walked towards him. I stopped right in front
of him and peered upwards while speaking quietly "Lurch."
His eyes softened instantaneously.
Then it looked like he was remembering something. He
narrowed his eyes at the person behind me. Any softness in
his gaze that was on me was now gone as his shoulders
tensed once again. Both his hands formed fists and
clenched at his side.
"You love roses. Are you fucking kidding me?" He bellowed
at me, hinting that he had heard the whole conversation.
I said nothing.
He kept his voice void of any emotion and that was even
more scarier than him exploding "You can return the gesture
by taking him roses to his grave when I put him ten foot
under the fucking ground."
"It was a joke." I defended.
"Do you see me laughing?"
Forgetting that I was meant to be pulling myself away from
his embrace, I reached out and put my hands over his
clenched ones. After a second or two, they relaxed and he
intertwined his fingers with mine.
I did not look up at him while I sauntered around his huge
form.
Walking down the corridor and leading him away from
Chase for the sake of the quarterback's safety, I did not let
go of his hand. It was only when I could feel him tense that I
let go and swivelled around to face him.
"Say what you want to say to me because I can feel the
anger radiate from you." I challenged because if he hated
me then he would let me go "Stop treating me like I am
going to break."
He made his way over my way to me in long threatening
steps until I was backed up against the locker.
His hands rest on either side of my head, leaving me
entrapped. His obsidian eyes were dark with fury. It was like
looking into a dark sky as a storm took place. His nostrils
flared as his rage simmered on. Once he had taken a deep
breath then his preying unfaltering gaze set on me again.
"You punched Chase." I stated instead of asking "You broke
his nose and fractured the bone into seventeen different
places."
"Eighteen." He corrected without an ounce of guilt.
"Why?" I challenged.
"You are mine. I will rip apart limb by limb anyone that
thinks differently." His tone came out hard and husky.
It was filled with undisguised and murderous jealousy.
My heart was a traitor. It clenched at the pain in his voice
and the sight of tension in his stance. My body too betrayed
me as the way it was reacting to him now was out with any
of my control.
"Here is a reason we can not be together." I poked his chest
as I stated the obvious "You are a possessive caveman."
"You, mine. I, yours." He spoke like he was actually a
caveman while his lips pressed together in a scowl.
I bit back my minuscule amount of amusement and instead
glared at him.
"I want to hit you with one of those prehistoric stick things
with the spikes." I ranted "The caveman club thing that I do
not know the name of. I want to bash your stupid face in."
He leaned closer so his nose brushed against my cheek until
he moved to my ear and huskily replied "Then why are you
blushing like crazy and you are biting your lip right now."
Gulping, I continued to try and slow down my breathing but
nothing seemed to be working.
His possessiveness and dominance should not have affected
me in such a way. Not when I was meant to be trying my
best to push him away.
Finally, I managed a reply "You are pressed up against me. It
is cheating. I can not think properly."
His head moved back so he could study my face. His
expression could only be described as desperate as his gaze
roamed every freckle and every detail of my face. Almost as
if he had not seen me in years.
"Medusa." His deep voice was barely a whisper "I belong to
you. Just like you belong to me. Why are you fighting that?"
I shook my head in reply to argue against what he was
saying. The thought behind my action was that if I shook
hard enough the butterflies would stop fluttering around in
my stomach.
"You are forgetting something."
"What?" I asked, peering up at him.
"I am an Ella-expert." He reached out like he needed to
touch me as he affirmed "I know when you are lying and you
are right now. If I really thought you wanted space or for us
to end for a while then I would give that to you."
"Would you?" I said because I was not convinced he would.
"I would wait any amount of time for you." Stone rasped out
"If that what was I thought you truly wanted then I would.
No matter if staying away from you would kill me in the
process."
I did not deny what he was saying because I could not.
Instead, I tried to move the conversation on in hopes that he
would not notice "I asked you for space yesterday and it was
hardly five hours before you showed up again. How is that
space?"
"I have tried doing things your way but you do not play fair,
Ella." His voice grew deeper as he continued "You are
walking around like everything is fine. Like you are fine
when I know better. You show up at school like nothing has
happened. You avoid me. Then I find you opening up to
him."
"Chase and I were just talking."
"You can not expect me to sit back and watch that." He
spoke in his gravelly tone "I can not do that and I will not do
that."
I stood on my toes and I tilted my head upwards so that he
knew that I was serious. I wanted to appear tall and strong
yet I was lucky if my rant hit his chin due to the height
difference.
"I can talk to whoever I want whenever I want and there is
nothing you can do about it." I argued.
"Do not push me. You know that I go fucking crazy at the
thought of you with another guy." He growled in warning.
"This is ridiculous!"
He scowled and I scowled right back. That is when adoration
made its way onto his expression. His face was a perfect
balance of anger and affection as he stared down at me.
"Can I speak to Brennan without you going all Bruce Banner
on me?" I remarked sarcastically while crossing my arms "Or
am I banned from speaking to every male?"
"Every last fucking one of them."
I did not know if wanted to kick, kill or kiss him.
Infuriatingly, it was mostly the latter option but there were
still urges to do the other two swirling around in me.
Poking his chest again, I muttered "You are irremediable."
Stone let out a deep sigh of content as he continued to
watch me silently. It was only for a moment but it felt like
much longer.
Then I manoeuvred myself out of his ensnare so I could
scurry away.
Marching down the hall and away from him did not work
because he was already hot on my heels. He did not do
anything except walk behind me silently. I had a feeling that
as his prey, he was playing with his food before he pounced
I was proved right when I reached our table in the cafeteria
because before I could make it to my seat, he wrapped his
arm around my waist and picked me up.
He sat down in his seat and set me on his lap while ignoring
my glare that I was sending his way.
"Let me go!" I tried to escape from his lap but it was no use.
The giant was far too strong.
"You are mine." He grumbled with a clenched jaw "You are
not going anywhere."
I turned my head so I could give him my best-annoyed face
before facing the table again.
"You are really starting to sound like those seagulls from
Finding Nemo." I pointed out.
"Do not look at me like that, bro." Brennan said from next to
us "I never know what she is talking about."
I huffed as I looked around the lunch hall to find not a single
person looking at us. Some people took a small glance but
never a second. Everybody was acting like it was a normal
occurrence.
"Under Californian law, a conviction for keeping someone
hostage can result in up to eight years in prison." I informed
him.
His arms did not loosen around me. If anything then his hold
grew stronger as he moved me so that my back was leaning
against his chest.
His voice, his scent and his warmth were messing with my
senses. It took everything in my being not to relax into him.
From the other side of the table, Lana was grinning our way.
I interpreted her expression as You want him and he is going
to win this wager. Stop fighting it
"Do not look at me like that." I told her while crossing my
arms "My belly button is not facing him."
Stone leaned closer until I could feel warmth tickling my
neck as he spoke "I think you being here on my lap
contradicts your theory."
I tilted my head upwards until I could see his smug face as I
questioned "How do you know about the belly button
theory?"
"Your blog."
I narrowed my eyes "That it is. I am going to kill you. I do
not care how good you can fight, I will destroy you"
Brennan chuckled "You two are something else."
Attempting to get up and getting nowhere, I finally resulted
to asking Brennan "Help me."
"No way." Brennan held up his hands and took a glance at
Stone "What even brought on this kidnapping?"
"I did nothing." I replied.
"You were speaking to Chase." Stone gritted out.
With a frustrated moan, I argued "I can speak to whoever I
want. Again there is nothing you can do about it."
"Oh no." Brennan exaggerated a shocked face as he asked
"Little Ella, do you want to be responsible for the end of the
male race?"
"No. I just want to end Stone."
Stone pulled me tighter towards him until his warmth
surrounded my body like a blanket. He buried his head into
the crook of my neck, nuzzling himself into my skin and
breathing me in.
For a few seconds, I let him stay there because I wanted to
revel in the moment. It was like nothing had changed. We
playfully bickered and then I ended up in his arms.
I tried to pull away as I voiced "We are not meant to be—"
A deep humourless chuckle cut me off.
"Do not pretend that we have not been together since the
second we met and do not pretend we are not together
now." Stone said tyrannically.
His hand instantly moved up my back to just under my ribs.
Chills travelled through my body until they covered every
inch of me.
I looked back at him until my gaze ran down his attractive
face to his lips.
"Reason." He quietly grumbled, "Give me a reason why I
should not kiss you right now."
I still did not want to elaborate on the core reason so I
lamely replied with the first thing that came to mind "The
height difference."
"What about it?"
"I am only going to admit this once. I am not five foot two. I
am five foot exactly." I told him before going on a rant "You
are closer to seven foot. My head barely reaches your chest.
You are still way larger than me now when I am sitting on
your lap."
His mouth moved up in a small amused smirk.
"Do you not think that looks ridiculous?" I asked before I
elaborated "You are way too big."
He put a hand under my chin so I had to look over my
shoulder at him.
"I would not change anything about you." He told me, his
deep voice strong "Not one single thing."
With a final once-over of his features, I faced the other way
and did my best to run away. It was another failed attempt.
The pattern was that I pulled away and he pulled me back
twice as hard.
It was draining me. I was fighting so hard for something that
was the exact opposite of what I truly wan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Six
The priest finished the service. His whole speech was filled
with religious thoughts and lovely words yet as he delivered
them, his face remained completely emotionless.
I could not help but think that he would have gotten on well
with Stone.
Everything went silent in Willow Cemetery. I stared down at
the open plot of land where the coffin would be lowered. The
same piece of land under the tree where my mother was
buried.
"Is it too late to tell you that my dad was Buddhist?" I
deadpanned to the priest, in an attempt to ignore the
feeling that came along with looking down.
Grumpy Priest almost looked like his jaw was going to drop.
However, his face remained passive even if I was
insinuating that his whole speech meant nothing.
"I am sorry." I quickly said "That was a bad time for a joke. I
usually do that when I feel uncomfortable or sad or anything
really."
Lana let out a small laugh from next to me.
She had told me that morning that she wanted to be there
for me. I did not say anything to object because I knew that
I could not have faced the funeral on my own. I was so
grateful that she was there and very grateful that she had
let me borrow a dress to wear.
I figured that wearing an AC/DC t-shirt was not appropriate
for a funeral.
"Is there anything you would like to say?" Grumpy Priest
asked while motioning to the coffin that had not been
lowered into the ground yet.
"It was me at the school trip to the science museum in
seventh grade that threw the planet Uranus at the teacher."
I vocalised "It was not Lana. Even though I insisted it was."
"You told him it was me?" She spoke in an accusing tone.
I sheepishly smiled at her "It was not a big deal."
"You knocked the teacher out unconscious!"
Shaking his head, Grumpy Priest coughed and then
interjected "I have never heard something quite like that for
parting words before."
An arm wrapped around my shoulder and Lana squeezed
me tighter to her before she said in a hushed voice "You
should say something."
"I have no idea what I want to say."
"Speak from the heart." Lana whispered, "Say how you are
feeling."
I studied the tree that was shaking in the wind and I
watched as some leaves off the branch fell onto the grass
and gravestone
"I have no idea what I am feeling. I do not know what I am
meant to feel." I uttered an I finally allowed myself to be
honest "In the last year of his life we were strangers."
Lana started to talk again and her tone went softer "He was
your dad and—"
"He was but I have no clue if this was what he would have
wanted." I cut her off and began to ramble on "Did he even
want to be buried next to my mom? Did he even want to be
buried at all? I feel like I am doing something wrong. Like
this is all wrong."
She gave me another gentle squeeze as she responded "He
loved you, Ella. He would have loved anything you decided."
"Why does everything feel so wrong right now?" My
question was barely a whisper.
"It has not even been a week since you were in an accident.
Since you lost him. You need to let yourself grieve."
"I have." I tried to argue.
"No. You have not." She spoke and it was like she was
peering into my soul "You have handled it so well. Too well. I
am worried about you. We all are."
All I did was nod at her because I did not have the strength
to pretend that everything was okay. That I was okay.
The name that was now engraved into the same headstone
as my mother's stared up at me and I stared back at it. Then
I noticed that the priest was still standing there.
"Thank you for the lovely service." I smiled gratefully at him
and hoped that he took the hint that I was done with the
service.
He nodded once "I wish you well, Miss Miller. I am sorry for
your loss."
"Goodbye, Grumpy Priest." I waved mindlessly.
My eyes widened when I noticed what I had just said but he
was too far gone so all I could do was laugh. Lana laughed
too but hers was more strained.
"I do not have a family anymore." I spoke aloud but more to
myself.
"Yes you do." Lana assured me before continuing "You have
so many people that love and care about you."
I shook my head "I never let anyone close enough to care. I
have only ever trusted one person in my life."
"Who?"
Pretending to glare at her, I could not fight back the smile as
I giggled "You, stupid."
Lana did not sound upset or offended rather more curious
when she questioned "Then why did you choose to tell
Stone about your dad and not me?"
"Have you met him?" I asked rhetorically before telling her
"He is a little demanding."
"So you are telling me that you the most stubborn girl in the
world just gave in to him?" Her voice was dripping with
disbelief as she kept going "Ella, if you truly did not want
him to know then you would not have told him. You told him
because you trusted him. You trust him."
I did not give her a reply. I just continued to look at the
ground as if the answer to everything would appear written
in the grass. Or as if the ground could swallow me whole so I
did not have to deal with everything.
Moving the hair that the wind had swept onto my face, I
uttered "I think I need some time alone."
She pulled away so that she was standing in front of me
before she smiled and replied "I will go wait in the car with
my parents."
Nodding, I smiled back at her before giving her a last hug
"Thank you."
Sometimes I wished that I could live in a library for the rest
of my life. There I would be able to escape everything and
everyone. In among the pages of a book, I could forget my
troubles and the world.
Someone enveloped my hand with their own. Someone that
was not Lana.
A hand that was too large. Too calloused. Too like the man
that I loved's hand.
My fingers intertwined with his unconsciously. It was against
any rational thought. It was all biological. The need to be
close to him. Every cell of mine wanted to touch him. I had
even made the action of moving close to him so the side of
me was pressed up against him.
We stood like that for a few minutes before I finally looked
up at him.
His hard chiselled features were much softer and his eyes
told the same story.
Stone began to speak in his husky voice "Ella, I—"
I let go of his hand like it had burned me and I forced myself
to take a few steps away from him.
I really did not want his pity so I rushed over my words as I
walked away "I do not want to talk about it."
The gravelled path led me past a few rows of graves before I
let out a sigh of exhaustion. I hated to admit it but my body
was still extremely sore.
Sometimes I could feel tired after doing the smallest of
things. I did not know if that was because of the side effects
of the medication or from lying to everyone about how I was
not in pain.
Halfway down the path, I saw a small memorial bench that
just the sight of made the ache in my legs worsen. I
slumped onto the seat and let out a small breath.
It was only a couple of seconds before a large body joined
me on the bench.
"I never cried when my parents died." His deep voice filled
the space between us.
"Why didn't you?" I asked softly, as the image of him being
hurt tugged at my heart.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Stone's attention flick to
my marked legs revealed because of my dress. He then
looked at my face and it caused heat to rush to my cheeks.
"It was not that I was not upset. I was bitter that they had
been taken from me. Instead of grieving in a conventional
way, I took every emotion and converted it into anger. As a
kid all I knew was to deal with things with my fists." He
explained before revealing "Sometimes I thought that was
all that I would feel."
I finally looked up at him and I shook my head to dismiss
that Idea "That is not true."
His lip moved up slightly as he stared down at me softly.
"No. It is not." He confirmed as his eyes remained on me
"Does it get any easier?" I asked before elaborating "Losing
someone. Does the pain get any easier?"
"It is always there. It might not lessen but you get stronger.
The world keeps going around and you go with it."
A deep exhale later and I admitted "I do not know if I will
ever get over this."
"You are the strongest person I have ever met, Medusa." He
again reached out and laced his fingers through mine as he
told me "You will."
Motioning to his arms and the general muscle mass of him, I
joked "I doubt that."
His attention never withered away from my face. I rubbed at
some dirt that I had got on Lana's dress in an attempt to
distract myself from the way that he watched me.
"It is okay for you to feel lost and confused, Ella." His voice
went hoarse as he pronounced his words "Please just talk to
me."
I did not know what to say so I stayed quiet.
"I never understood my fathers death." Stone filled the
silence as he confessed his own hardships.
"You said that he died of a broken heart." I spoke as I
remembered what he had told me at the beach what
seemed like ages ago.
"I never comprehended how someone could die of
heartbreak." He revealed and then his tone went deeper as
he added "Then I saw you in that hospital bed and I
understood. I got it completely."
I never spoke. I feared that I would burst into tears if I even
muttered a word.
He moved his bulky arm so that it rested on the bench
behind my back. It seemed like he was scavenging for
contact and he would accept anything that I would give him.
"I am sorry about yesterday at school. I should not have
acted like that." He apologised before he sighed "I never
want to lose control with you. Never with you."
"You don't have to be sorry." I told him while meeting his eye
so he knew that I meant it "I would rather you told me what
you really thought and how you really felt instead of bottling
it up and staying silent."
Stone's deep gravelly voice went husky when he replied "I
never wanted you to see that side of me."
"Is that why you never told me about Litora Bello?"
He nodded, gazing at me with so much longing to touch me
that I almost caved.
I turned my body so that I was facing him while I told him
"Stone, I wanted you. I wanted your truth. No matter how
ugly or angry it was."
His whole large frame tensed and he quietly grumbled "Past
tense?"
Of course not, I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, I
want you forever, too.
We fell into a comfortable silence again. He gently stroked
my hand occasionally to let me know that he was there. I
did not need that to know he was there. My body had an
inbuilt sensor for him. My heartbeat increased and my
stomach fluttered.
The fuzzy feeling all over me was enough for me to know he
was there.
I was glad that he was next to me. I needed him more than I
cared to admit.
"You never told me your theory about the afterlife." He
asserted while continuing to study my expression.
"I think it is subjective. I think everything in life is
subjective." I began by explaining "The world is how
someone perceives it. How we look at something is so
different to others. If I asked you what colour that tree was,
you could say blue and who am I to tell you that you are
wrong. The world could be black and white for all we know
and it is us that chooses to see it in colour."
"So you believe nothing has an answer?"
"Everything is subjective. That is why I make theories
because nothing can be proven." I stated before challenging
him "Try and name something that cannot be argued
against."
His gaze was solely on me when he answered "That I love
you. Who is going to argue against that?" 
"Nobody." I whispered into the air before adding "Probably
because everyone is too scared to argue with you."
"That priest looked scared shitless when he seen me."
I smiled at myself as I imagined Grumpy Priest seeing an
even grumpier giant enter the graveyard.
"He probably thought you were the grim reaper." I joked.
He chuckled and shook his head with a hint of a smile.
I looked down at our entwined hands and what I saw on his
hand made me gasp. I yanked his hand with the bloodied
and bruised knuckles closer to my face so I could inspect
them.
"What happened to your knuckles?" I rushed over my words
and glared at the bruises "Do they hurt?"
Stone tried to remain serious as I glared at him for hurting
himself but I could see the smirk fighting to take over his
face.
"Yes." He spoke as his lip twitched "They hurt."
"Are you lying to me?" I asked as I dropped his hand
hesitantly.
"Yes." He replied and scowled as I pulled my hand away
from him.
The moment where we were both so close and so interested
in looking at each other's mouths was far too intimate for
my liking so I stood up and pulled at my dress as I did so.
Remembering that Lana was in the car with her parents that
were waiting for me so they could get to the airport gave
me enough strength to pull away.
I had finally convinced both of them and Lana that I was
fully up for the party that she was throwing.
"I can't do this, Lurch." I crossed my arms over me because I
started to feel a bitter chill in the air as I spoke.
"We do not have to talk about this right now." He told me
strictly.
I looked at him as he sat on the bench with slumped
shoulders and his head hanging low and fought the urge to
crawl on his lap and cuddle him.
I shook my head and argued, "We do have to talk about
this."
"I will change your mind." He spoke determinedly as if my
fate had already been sealed "No matter how long it takes."
There was nothing to say so I turned on my heel and headed
in the direction of the main gate of the cemetery.
From behind me, I could hear the sound of rustling leaves
and the sound of a rumbling that most likely came from a
huge chest.
My feet came to a stop at the corner of the road where
Lana's parents' car should have been.
It was not there. Instead was a very familiar motorbike.
Ignoring the presence behind me, I fetched my phone out of
my bra and angrily tapped my phone.
The phone rang as I brought it to my ear and waited for
Lana to pick up.
"Leaving me in a graveyard?" I tutted into the phone "What
kind of low-budget horror film move is this supposed to be?"
"I had to get back to the house to get suitcases. Mom and
dad's flight is in a few hours." She gave as an excuse.
"Why don't I believe you?" I rebutted.
"I know that you need him." Lana delivered gently "Stop
running because you are scared."
I bit my lip and breathed through my noise.
"Please don't hate me." She blurted out before hanging up
the phone "I love you."
With my arms still crossed, I took a deep breath before
facing the giant and huffing "I'm kind of stranded."
A frown was etched onto his features and his jaw was ticking
as he watched me. His fingers twitched at his side. He took
a few long steps to his bike and handed me the smaller
helmet that he had bought.
I took it and accidentally our fingers brushed. Sparks flew up
my arm and I almost jolted at the sensation.
No words were passed between us as both his hands went
to rest on my hips. My gasp at the contact could probably
have woken the dead.
His eyes were on me but mine were looking straight ahead
at his stomach. He lifted me onto the bike before getting on
himself.
My fingers shook as I wrapped my arms around his middle.
He revved the engine as I pressed up against him. I heard a
deep sounding noising like an intake of breath as I did so.
I clung to him as if my life depended on it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Pathetic fallacy is the technique used in literature where the
writer purposely makes the weather a certain way to
reflects the character's mood. It hardly rained in California
but when it did, I sometimes liked to believe that someone
out there cared. That it was not just me on my own.
The rain was batting on the window. It had been since Stone
left. I watched the raindrops fall for a while until I ended up
fishing out an old photo album from my father's bedroom. 
I sat on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate while taking a
painful trip down memory lane. All while restraining the urge
to break down once again.
Just when I started to feel my chest become heavy, a single
loud knock came from the door. Loud enough that I almost
mistook it for thunder.
I shut the book of photographs and stood up to walk over to
the door.
I suspected that it was Lana as I made my way across the
living room. She had been probably worried about me being
by myself even if I insisted I was fine. I told her that I
needed to face the apartment and the memory of him
eventually.
Opening the door, I held onto the handle tightly as I took in
the sight of him. Of the person I wanted it to be.
"You came back." I uttered in shock.
"I never left."  He replied as his eyes trailed from my head to
toe and then back.
Stone looked devastating. His veins bulged from the
muscles in his arm as he ran a hand through his wet hair.
His shirt was soaked. So wet that I could see the outline of
his abs.
I did not waste any time.
I took a step closer to him and put my weight on my toes as
I reached up and pulled at his damp leather jacket so he
would move down closer to me.
He did not need the pull because he was already moving
closer. I reached up and let my fingers roam through his hair
as I smashed my lips onto his.
A moan escaped me as his tongue flicked over my lip and
caressed my senses. He took over and dominated instantly.
His mouth rediscovered mine as his hands stroked down my
body until they gripped themselves onto my hips, lifting me
up.
The noise of his deep grumbles in his chest showed how
much he needed me. He pulled me closer than close as we
continued to show each other how much we had missed
this. Missed us.
We ended up on the sofa without parting ways. We could
not let go of each other. I clutched at him desperately and
he did the same.
I was straddling him as he bit my lip and roamed his fingers
through my hair. My hands went to grip his shirt as I fisted
the wet material so I could push myself up because I wanted
to taste all of him. We both were imprisoned by each other
and there was no need for anything else. Just each other.
He then gently pulled back from me as he rasped out "Ella.
Stop"
I did pull back but I did not let go of my grip on his shirt.
"Fuck. I should not have done that." He cursed while running
a hand through his hair again.
"I am sorry." I said while both my hands laid flat on his chest
as I pushed myself back "I get it. You do not want me
anymore."
One of his arms wrapped around my waist tightly so he
could keep me on his lap. The other he used to hold my chin
with his hand so that I would look at him.
"What," He let out deeply and lowly "did you just say."
"You...You do not want me anymore." I breathed through the
pain "It is okay."
"Now wanting you is like not fucking breathing." He gnarled
"It is impossible."
I did not meet his eye so he cupped my face and gently
forced me to look at him.
"I always want you. I never stop wanting you" He quietly
growled before softening his voice until it was hoarse "You
are grieving. I am not taking advantage of that."
That is when it hit. There was no rhyme or reason to it. All of
the pain escaped from me and there was nothing I could do
to stop it. Large sobs made their way out from me and I
could feel the tears running down my face.
Stone pulled me closer and put his large arms around me so
that my face was buried in his chest. He let me cry into his
shirt until it was soaked even more than it already was. He
ran his hand through my hair comfortingly and continued to
whisper sweet nothings to me as he kissed my head.
When I eventually felt like there were no more tears left in
me, I peered up at him so my forehead rested against his.
"Medusa, baby." He whispered, "Talk to me."
My bottom lip trembled as I explained "I spent the last
month or so of his life hating him. We never once had a nice
conversation. It was arguing or if it was not that then it was
just us ignoring each other."
He wiped my tears away with his two thumbs "He knew that
you loved him."
"How do you know that?" I asked while doubting that he had
as my vision became unclear "A naive hopeful part of me
thought that he would come back. That he would get over it
and get better. That we would make amends. I will never get
that time with him."
Stone just kissed my head as I continued letting everything
out.
"I will never get that time back." I repeated before hurrying
over my words "I will not have him over for Thanksgivings or
Christmases. I will not have him walking me down the aisle
if I get married. If I have kids then they will never have a
grandfather. I will never be able to rebuild my relationship
with him."
I continued to cry into him and he let me. I did so until my
throat started to hurt and until my neck was soaked with
tears.
I stood up quickly from his lap and wiped my eyes for the
final time.
"I am going to go and have a shower." I announced before
hurrying away from him before he could argue.
Locking the bathroom door behind me, I leaned against the
wood and let out a pained sigh. The reflection on the mirror
above the sink showed that I looked just as bad as I felt.
My eyes and nose were red. My already long enough hair
reached my elbows and was long overdue a cut.
The dress that Lana let me borrow hit the floor as I rushed
to get out of my clothes and into the shower. I washed my
body and paid closer attention to scrub gentler the marks
that were still visible from the crash.
After I felt kind of fresh again then I wrapped a towel around
my chest and walked over to the cabinet under the sink.
The pills that Mrs Lewis gave me at the hospital were there
with some other medication. I took two of mine and ignored
the advice of taking one because everything hurt.
Then I noticed in the first aid box that there was some
cream that we had for cuts.
Once I had finished up in the bathroom, I took myself and
the cream through to the bedroom. I sat down on the edge
of the bed before I hoisted one of my legs on the mattress
to apply the cream.
I only got a couple of cuts covered before Stone walked in
and seen what I was doing.
He quickly made his over to the edge of the bed before
kneeling down and taking over my cream applying. He put
some on two fingers before gently rubbing it on my legs.
While he did so, I tried adjusting my towel so he did not get
an eyeful down there. It was not like he had not seen it
before but it was not exactly the sexiest scene at that
moment.
However, he did not pay any attention to my exposed thigh
and only concentrated on his job at hand.
"Do they hurt?" He questioned, sounding wounded himself.
There was no point in lying to him because he could see
that I was wincing so I nodded.
After my answer, his head never looked up as he kept on
covering my legs with the cream.
After a minute, I quietly voiced "Lurch, I am so sorry."
"I need to know why you are doing this." He told me as he
met my eye with desperation in his own.
As well as deflecting the conversation, I wanted to cheer
him up so I decided to list more humorous reasons rather
than the truth.
"My reason is that your car and motorbike take up two
spaces outside of my apartment." I voiced as I managed to
smile at him
Stone looked up and watchesd me with a softness in his
gaze "You love that motorbike more than I do."
My lip twitched and I tried again "You take up all the space
on the bed with your wide shoulders."
"You sleep on me." He rebutted with a hint of a small smirk
on his face.
As I rolled my eyes I then thought of another thing "You
always need fed. You eat everything in the fridge."
"You always steal from my plate."
"Another reason is you annoy like me nobody else. Only you
can get so far deep into my skin." I laughed as I spoke.
He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear with his hand
that had not got cream on it as he retaliated with "I have
always annoyed you. Just like you have always got under my
skin, Drizella."
"My name." I gave him another stupid reason "You always
say my name to get a rise out of me and wind me up."
The giant had a full smirk on his face as he replied "I like
your name."
"Well I do not like yours." I lied "Stone is a stupid name."
He ceased applying the cream on my legs and he tilted his
head with a look of adoration on his face.
"You better get used to it." His rough voice deepened as he
informed me "You will be taking it."
I choked on the air.
"Just tell me the truth." He begged, "I cannot fight for you if
you do not tell me what I am fighting."
Taking a deep breath, I revealed "The truth is that I love you
too much. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone."
He rose on his knees so that he was towering over me as he
asked "Then why are you doing this?"
"It is scary to have someone have your heart in their hands
and trust them not to crush it." I whispered "It is scary to
need someone. To love them. To rely on them not leave
you."
"I will never leave." He gritted out while sounding offended
that I would say such a thing.
"But—"
"I am not going anywhere, baby." He stated while cupping
my face once again "You will never lose me."
I closed my eyes so I did not have to look at him as I spoke
"I do not know exactly why my mother chose to end her life
but I know that she felt trapped. She sometimes looked at
me with resentment. My dad too looked at me that way
after she died. I never want you to wake up and feel that
towards me too. I never want you to feel stuck with me."
"How could you think that. I—" He began to raise his voice.
I cut him off by shouting "You are going somewhere. You are
going to make it big with your fight club."
"Ella. Look at me." He demanded in his dominant tone "It is
nothing. Not compared to you. I would choose you over
anything. No matter what the other option was."
"You should not have to make a choice." I said before
explaining "You have a destination. The same cannot be said
about me. I have no place to go and I feel so lost."
His hands fell from my face and gripped the bedsheets on
either side of me so that I was surrounded by him. 
"You have just lost your dad." He said, "You need time."
"I have lost everybody." I sighed, my breath shaking "I can
not go through that again. Especially not with you. I will not
survive it. I need to let go while everything is still raw so I do
not have to face someone leaving me again."
"You are trying to leave me." Stone growled before sending
me a look of dark promise my way "Trying being the key
word of that sentence. Your reason is not good enough. I am
not leaving. I will never leave you. I do not care how many
times I have to say it until you get it into that beautiful head
of yours. I am not going anywhere."
"It does not matter." I mentioned, "After tomorrow at
midnight, it will not matter."
He moved back and shock clouded his defined features as
he asked "You really thought that I was just going to give up
after that? And what? Walk away?"
My eyes widened as I argued "You said it yourself. A bet is a
bet."
"You still have not gave me a good enough reason!"
"I just did!" I rebutted but my voice was weak.
"No. You did not." He grumbled before his voice grew deeper
and his expression contorted to hurt "Did you really think
that I was just going to give up after tomorrow?"
I could feel my eyes start to water again so I tried to focus
on something else. Nothing worked. Every corner of my
room was filled with him. All walls were coloured in that
certain shade of green.
"I am really tired." I said as I stood up and left him kneeling
on the floor.
He stood up too and his arms went out like he wanted to
reach for me. He restrained himself and made tight fists at
his side.
"I will take the sofa." He told me before taking a last long
look my way and then leaving the room "If you need
anything at all then just tell me."
Changing into my pyjama shorts and tank top, I started to
feel a little off-balance and suspected that taking two of the
pills Mrs Lewis warned me not to was not such a good idea.
I pulled back the sheets and got inside the bed. I pushed
down the feeling of emptiness.
I did not lie to Stone. I was tired. Yet as I laid on my bed, I
was wide awake. I tried switching position on the mattress
but nothing worked. I let my arm stretch out as I reached for
something that was not there.
Huffing, I jumped up from the bed and sauntered through to
the kitchen in a desperate exigency to be in his arms.
Stone was leaning haunched over on the kitchen counter,
gripping the edge of the marble countertop with his veiny
hands. He had taken off his wet shirt because he only stood
in his jeans.
He only noticed that I was in the room when I made my way
over to him and wrapped my arms around his middle. I
rested my cheek on his bare back.
"Come to bed." I pleaded.
Carefully he turned around so my arms still remained
around him. He stared down at me before lifting me up so
we could be face to face.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and then I let my arms
cross behind his neck so that I could rest my head on his
shoulder.
"I do not want this. I do not want to win this wager." I
admitted while holding on to him with all the strength that I
had left in me "I do not want to lose you."
"You won't." He reassured me before leaving a soft kiss to
my ear "I love you, Medusa."
"I love you too, Lurch." I spoke before yawning. 
He gave my exposed neck soft gentle kisses which left
goosebumps on the skin while he carried me back to the
room.
Before he could say anything more, I closed my eyes and
relaxed into him with a content s
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Eight
There was no evidence that the rain had been. It was like it
had never happened. Even in the morning, the sun scorched
itself through the clouds and shone down on the streets.
I took long hurried strides across the road to Lana's street. I
counted how many steps it took to get to her house to
distract myself from thinking about the look on Stone's face
when he noticed that I was gone.
I wondered if there was such a thing as a walk of cuddling
shame. If not then I had invented it.
Two hours was how long it took to pull myself away from
him. Half that time was spent on manoeuvring myself out of
his death-grip hold and replacing my space on top of him
with a pillow.
I did not want to leave but I could not face him. My last
thought before I left was that I was grateful that he was
lying on his back. If I had even a glimpse of the medusa
tattoo then I would not have been able to leave.
The Armstrong's house came into view and I fastened my
pace the last few yards until I arrived at the cobbled path up
to the front door.
Lana was already outside and she was not alone. Brennan
was standing there with his back to me as both of them
continued their conversation. They both had not noticed me
standing there.
I watched as Lana fiddled with the bottom of her sundress
as she uttered under her breath "I understand. We were
never really going to work out. I kind of knew that from the
start."
Brennan nodded his head "I wish I could have loved you."
I had a theory that Brennan was just as secretive and
standoffish as Stone. He just hid it much better with his
charm and charisma. I always felt there was something he
was holding back.
"I wish I could have loved you too." She said back to him
with a small sad smile.
Lana then noticed me. Her eyes went wide as she saw me
standing there sheepishly. Brennan turned around to see
what had her so shocked. His face remained passive as he
offered me a small wave.
"Sorry." I quickly apologised before motioning behind with
my hand "I can circle the block if you two want to keep
talking."
"It is fine." She waved off the idea before skipping over in
my direction and embracing me in a hug "Happy birthday."
"Happy halloween." I replied because I really did not feel like
celebrating my birthday.
Brennan was quick to move and hug me too as he said
"Happy birthday, Little Ella."
I pulled away and smiled up at him "Thank you."
He then looked around over my shoulder like he was looking
for something. More accurately someone.
"Where is Stone?" Brennan asked with a frown.
There was no point in lying because he had obviously
realised that if Stone was not at the Lewis' then he was with
me.
"Sleeping." I answered vaguely.
The frown on Brennan's face deepened as he questioned
"You left without telling him?"
"He was still sleeping." I tried to argue "Which is unusual
because he is usually awake by the break of dawn."
Brennan scrubbed his hands over his face as he told me
"That is because he has not slept in days. He is so worried
about you."
"I know—"
"Ella, he is miserable without you." He stated before he
explained "He trained all the time anyway but now it is
terrifying how much he does. He broke his phone to stop
from calling you. He has shattered a mirror with his fist and
damaged his knuckles. He split open a punching bag. He
has trashed his room and he destroys everything that
comes into his path because he is miserable."
All I could do was look down and bite my trembling lip. I told
myself that I was not going to cry again so I took a deep
breath.
Lana was the one to speak up as she raised her voice at him
"She is suffering too. She has just lost her dad and she does
not need to think about this if she does not want to."
"I am sorry." Brennan sighed as his expression grew softer
"It is just that you two are better together."
"I never wanted to hurt him. I still do not want to." I uttered.
He nodded but he sighed once once  "I know but you can
not just up and leave. You can not just leave him wondering
where you are. He can not take that."
Brennan's phone started ringing so he reached into his back
pocket and pulled it out.
The ringing stopped after three beats and that is when I
heard the deep rough voice.Even from a few metres away, I
could hear Stone roaring from the other end of the line.
I purposely tuned out of listening to what he was saying. I
did not want to know.
"Calm down." Brennan tried to raise his voice to overpower
the noise of the angry male on the other end of the line but
it did not seem to be working.
That was when Brennan resulted to walking over and
holding out the phone out to me.
Brennan mouthed "Talk to him."
I put the phone to my ear but then pulled it back because
the volume of the gravelly voice was too loud.
"Do not tell me to fucking calm down. I have no idea where
she fucking is or if she is okay." Stone bellowed, his voice
thick with panic and anguish.
I finally spoke into the phone "Stone."
The line went silent for several moments. All I heard was a
deep sounding rumble then a sigh of relief.
"It is Ella." I said lamely like he did not already know that it
was me.
Silence stretched and then he finally breathed out one word.
"Ella." His voice deepened as he said my name.
I looked at Lana's concerned eyes as she watched me
squirm. I then looked to Brennan who appeared worried too.
Then I focused on the ground.
"What happened?" Stone demanded to know as his tone
changed to one of a demanding dictator "I wake up and you
are fucking gone. You just left and never said goodbye. You
never told me where you were going."
My mouth opened but then closed again.
"Why would you do that?" He gnarled, still sounding frenzied
as he asked questions.
"I am really sorry. I didn't—"
Stone's tone was stern and entirely demanding as he spoke
"I have being going insane. I wake up and you are not there
and—"
Cutting him off, I whispered into the phone "I could not face
you."
The line went silent.
His voice went hoarse as he mentioned "I thought we had
figured everything out."
Shaking my head like he could see me, I uttered "I meant
what I said last night. You are better off without me."
I had nothing to offer him. I was miserable. I could barely
look after myself the past few days. Let alone give effort to
someone else.
I knew I was in the wrong. I knew that it was horrible to
cuddle into him one minute and leave the next but I could
not help it. Lines between what I wanted and what I should
do were blurred.
I was being pulled into so many directions that I felt dizzy
and sick. All I wanted to do was isolate myself, curl up into a
ball and cry
A growl was his reply "Then what was last night? After that
conversation?"
"What do you mean?" I queried, acting clueless.
"What I mean is last night when you were in my arms telling
me that you did not want me to let you go." He grumbled.
Even through the phone, I could feel the tension stirring
inside him. I imagined his jaw ticking and his fist clenching.
Wrapping my free arm around myself, I lied through my
teeth "I took more pills than I should have last night. I do not
remember any of that. I went to bed after our conversation
in the bedroom."
Stone chuckled humourlessly. It was stained. I could feel his
anger through the phone.
He stated, "You are the worst liar."
My mouth twitched so I covered it with my hand before I
took another deep breath.
"Where are you?" He asked sternly.
"I can't—" I tried to plead.
"Where are you?" He repeated and it sounded less like a
request and more of a commandment.
The phone shook in my hand as I lowered it from my ear. I
walked over and thrust the mobile into Brennan's chest
before walking over to the stairs of the Armstrong's porch
and sitting down.
Lana was quick to join me as she sat down and put her arm
around my shoulder.
"What happened?" She asked gently.
I watched as Brennan paced the front yard while he talked
into the phone as I answered "Last night, I let the truth slip
out."
She tilted her head in confusion.
"All I could think about was about how much I missed him. I
had a moment of weakness and I told him the truth." I told
her.
"That you do not really want him to go?"
Nodding, I turned my attention back to Brennan as he made
his way over to us.
"Stone is on his way." He informed us as he put his phone
back into his pocket.
Lana shook her head at him "If Ella does not want to see
him then you both need to respect that."
"Stone knows what you are doing." Brennan accused "You
are trying to push him away until he finally gives up and
leaves."
I did not deny it.
"Ella, You could kill him and he would still come back for
more." He stated like it was a matter of fact "He is never
going to give up. You can not take his only source of
happiness away from him."
The bold statement left me speechless.
Brennan did not stop there because he added "He has only
known you a matter of months but it feels like he has been
in love with you all of his life."
I did not want to hear anymore so I stood up and announced
"I need a glass of water."
I felt a lot more stronger physically. The walk from the porch
l to the kitchen did not tire me out. However, I did feel
emotionally exhausted and mentally drained.
Leaning forward, I rested on the counter and ran the tap
while taking a glass and filling it. I gulped down half the
content before I put it down. I took a few deep breaths as I
stared out the window at the backyard.
When I looked back down at the glass of water, I saw a hand
gripping the counter on either side of my body.
The largeness of the hands and how one of them had a skull
covering the knuckles was enough of a hint to know who it
was.
It was also obvious as to who stood behind me because my
body reacted instantly. Goosebumps covered every skin
molecule and heat travelled me from head to toe.
I knew that I was trapped and caged in between the kitchen
counter and his body so I turned around. I kept my head
straight and faced his stomach. I crossed my arms and did
not look up at him.
He reached out and placed a finger under my chin and
tugged gently so that I was looking up at him.
Stone's voice was laced with desperation as he lowly let out
"I need to see you."
There was so much that I wanted to say but nothing left my
mouth. I just watched him silently and counted the number
of times his jaw clenched.
"You are so stubborn." He pointed out, his dark gaze
penetrating me.
"Then get rid of me." I challenged.
"No." He growled as an emotion I could not quite decipher
crossed his face.
It was like the idea of getting rid of me hurt him to even
think about.
I could see it. The devastating hurt. The longing. He could
also see it in me. I saw the pain in his eyes and I knew that
he could see the pain in mine.
"Why did you leave like that?" He interrogated, his volume
dropping an octave.
"Last night, I could not sleep." I answered him as I moved
the hair out of my face "All I could think about was how
much I was dreading waking up and trying to say goodbye
to you again."
"You do not have to." He assured me as leaned down until
our noses nearly touched "You are so scared of losing people
but it is you that is running away. I am not going anywhere.
It is you trying to leave me."
All I could do was shake my head.
"I should not have left without telling you." I confessed
before I told him "I am really really sorry."
"You don't need to apologise, Ella." He kept his eyes trained
on my face when he uttered deeply "You need to tell me
that you will not do it again."
I thought I was going to cry again so I moved my head
towards the floor and studied the tiles intently.
He pulled back but he kept his hands where they were so he
could keep me caged in.
"I am going to need a better reason on why you are trying to
run away." He grumbled challengingly.
I shook my head and offered him no reply.
He scrubbed a tattooed hand over his face as a ragged
breath left him.
"The last time that you went off by yourself you ended up in
an accident. I had to watch you unconscious for three days."
He panted his words out gruffly like they hurt him to say "I
had to sit and watch you get life support from a machine. I
had to listen to doctors try and tell me that you might not
make it."
"I'm sorry." I muttered.
His nostrils flared and I could see the emotions inside of him
fighting their way out as he grumbled "You can not just do
that. I went insane waking up and wondering where you
were and if you were okay."
"Because you are so forthcoming with information." I joked
and then cringed before offering him an apology "Sorry. Low
blow."
"Please tell me why you are avoiding me." He leaned his
head down so that he could be closer to me when speaking
"I need to know what is wrong and I need to know how to
make things better for you."
"I'm scared!" I blurted out before letting out a small cry "I'm
really scared."
His hands quickly came up to clutch at me. He cupped
either side of my face with his strong calloused hands.
"You are never going to get hurt again." He rumbled, his
voice rough and mellow "You think I would let that happen?"
"I'm terrified." I said again before I explained "I'm so
terrified that you are going to leave me. I would rather lose
you now when the pain is still raw. If we stayed together and
you left me in the future, I don't think I would be able to
handle it—"
"I am never leaving."
"But—" I began.
"I am only going to say this once." He uttered lowly while he
made a fist with his large hand and pounded it into the
middle of his chest "Because it fucking hurts too much."
I tilted my chin upwards and peering at him while waiting for
his next words.
"If I found you in bed with another man, I would still never
leave you." His deep voice broke as if he needed me to hear
the truth but it burst him to say "I would tear the bastard
apart but I would never hurt you. I would take you home and
love you harder so that you would never think of leaving
me."
A sob made its way up my throat. It was so painful that I
raised a hand to my neck.
"Nobody loves anything more than I love you." He delivered
as if it was a law rather than a proclamation.
"Valentine, I would never do that." I delivered to him and the
sternness of my voice almost sounded as great as his "I love
you and I would never even think about someone else."
Another guy has never even crossed my mind since I met
Stone. Everyone else seemed insignificant and the thought
of having romantic feelings towards someone other than
him was impossible. It was ludicrous to think it was anyone
else but him.
"It is hard for me to deal with grief. I don't understand what
I'm supposed to do or what is meant to be the right thing." I
told him softly "I need some time. Please."
His phone went off before we could argue any further. He
pulled it out of his jean pocket and did not bother to check
the name before declining the call.
The dark eyes never left me as his phone instantly went off
again and Stone declined it once more.
"Answer it." I insisted to him quietly.
He picked the phone up on the third attempt of someone
calling and then he growled into the phone "What?"
Whoever was on the phone spoke to him for a few minutes.
Stone said nothing back while he watched me.
Eventually, he ended the call and put it back into the pocket
of his leather jacket.
"Who was it?" I asked, using the call to my advantage to
change the subject.
"Reed." He said before letting out a rough sound of
dissatisfaction "He needs me at the beach."
I managed to put on an encouraging smile as I spoke "You
got to go, Vulcan."
Stone chuckled humourlessly, obviously not happy "I do not
feel like Vulcan."
"Then who do you feel like?" I asked while tilting my head as
I continued to watch his jaw tick.
"Orpheus," He answered before explaining "And you are
Eurydice. Every time I feel we are moving forward then I
turn back and you are gone. Every time you are in reach
then you disappear."
To avoid the ache in my chest, I let out a small laugh "To
think people call me the nerd."
He shook his head with softness in his gaze as he listened to
my laughter.
I voiced "You know how that myth ends. Orpheus loses
Eurydice. He cannot reach her."
"You are wrong. He goes to the depths of Tartarus for her."
He told me gruffly "If I have to do the same for you then so
be it. I have been to hell and back a few times this past
week anyway."
"I am not planning to go to hell for a few years yet so you do
not need to worry." I deadpanned.
"Tonight, you will be back in my arms." He stated like it was
inevitable and predestination.
"You can't be talking about the bet."
Stone nodded his head, looking like some kind of tenacious
God ready for war. An almighty look of someone who would
clear anything and everything in their path to get what they
want.
"I am not some kind of trophy to be won." I accused.
"No. You are not." He agreed before glancing at me intently
"You are my Medusa. There is not a fucking chance in hell
that I am going another day without you."
When I did not reply he then pulled something out of his
other pocket. A sheet of paper folded up. He did not quite
meet my eye as he handed it to me.
I flickered my attention between him and the piece of paper
that felt important as I questioned "What is it?"
"You never got to read my essay."
My hand held onto the sheet of paper tightly. I did not plan
on reading it. I would lock it up and keep it hidden like the
rest of my feelings.
His phone beeped again and he exhaled sharply before
cursing.
"Go." I whispered.
Before I could pull myself away, he brought his arms around
me so that I was crushed against his chest. He rested his
mouth on my head and left a kiss there. I let myself sink into
the warmth before I pulled away a minute later.
He lingered at the top of my head, begrudging to leave.
In his gravelly deep tone, he uttered "Happy birthday,
Medusa."
I tried to smile again but it came out all shaky.
The arms trapping me to him fell and he took a last good
look at me before turning and leaving.
As soon as he left the kitchen, I let out the deep breath that
I had been holding. I stared at the doorway and the absence
of where he once was.
Dread took over every vein inside of me. He had to leave for
Litora Bello. He probably had to train because it was the
final. The big fight was happening in a matter of hours.
Whoever he was facing was going to be just as good a
fighter as he was and that thought made me feel sick.
Not thinking about it any further, I pushed myself off my
hold on the sink and ran through the living room to the front
door.
As I felt the fresh air hit me, I ignored the stares off Brennan
and Lana who were still talking on the stairs.
"Lurch." I called but it came out quieter than I intended it to
be.
He heard it anyway because he turned around instantly. He
took long determined strides so that he was in front of me
again.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked as undisguised concern
flowed from me "Tonight, I mean. With the fight. Are you
going to be okay?"
Stone nodded, his lip twitching.
"I am going to win." He declared "Then I am coming to get
my girl."
My heart skipped a beat and all I could do was gape at him.
His voice went deeper as he said one word "Come."
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
"Tonight. Come to my fight."
I could not help but smile as I told him "You kept Litora Bello
from me for weeks and now you want me to go?"
"If I got what I wanted then you would never leave my side
again."
His phone went off a couple of times again. It was just a text
but he still looked down at his phone in frustration.
"I can't." I whispered.
Even the thought of him potentially getting hurt was too
much for me to deal with.
I covered up my concern by adding to my reply "Lana's
halloween party is tonight."
"I wish that I could show you how much I crave you. I wish
that I could let you look into my mind because I only think
about you." He cupped my face and lowered his voice as he
spoke "If you could see how much I loved you then you
would not try and leave."
Everything I needed to say got lost in the air.
I ended up whispering "Please come back okay."
I took a step back and so did he. Nothing else was said but I
could feel it. The incompleteness. Our conversation was far
from over.
Stone walked away but not before a last glance over his
shoulder at me.
Brennan followed foot as he waved a last goodbye to Lana
and told me "See you tonight."
Lana and I went back inside. I strolled to the sofa as she
went through to the kitchen.
I rested my head on a pillow as I rubbed my temples in a
circular motion. I let my eyes close momentarily
The sofa moved as Lana sat down next to me.
I opened my eyes to saw her sitting there holding a
cupcake. It was decorated in green swirl icing and it had one
lit candle in it.
Holding the cake out, She smiled encouragingly "Make a
wish."
Blowing it out, I used my wish and any others that I might
have had for him. All my wishes were for Stone. I wanted
him to win the fight and come back unscathed.
She set the cake down on the coffee table before walking
over to the other sofa to grab two wrapped presents. She
set them on my lap and motioned for me to open them.
I smiled and started to open the first one. It was a flat
package and it felt a lot like clothes. I pulled out the
material with my finger and tilted my head at the swimsuit.
It was nothing that I would ever choose out for myself but it
was nice. The one-piece suit was ombré and went from
yellow to a royal blue.
When I peered back up at Lana, she looked sheepish and
unsure what to say so I spoke instead.
"Thank you. It is beautiful." I told her as I sent her a grateful
look.
"Open the other one." She said excitedly.
Tearing open the sparkly wrapping paper, I expected to find
some kind of book because of the feeling of it.
It was so much better than a book. It was a photo album. I
opened the first page and seen photos of us both when we
were younger. I flipped through more pages. There were
loads of photos of Lana and me. Some just silly selfies. Most
of them us eating food. All of them were so precious to me
and I could not fight the happiness as I kept going through
them.
"I love it." I gushed at the book she made me before I leapt
at her to give her the biggest hug "Thank you so much,
Barbie."
"You are welcome, Freak Show." She said back as she
wrapped her arms around me.
"I have been a real shitty friend." I cried into her shoulder.
She pulled back and scowled "That is the furthest thing you
have been. You have always put me before yourself. You are
entirely selfless. You have looked after me ever since we
were ten. Now it is my turn to look after you."
Smiling at her stubborn expression, I thought to myself that
she had spent too much time with me. My stubbornness has
rubbed off on her.
"Every time you think about others happiness before your
own. That is why you are pushing away Stone. You think you
are a burden to him but you are not." She emphasised each
word as she continued her speech "You try and hide it but I
know that you have a low self esteem. You do not think you
are good enough but you are so unbelievably wrong."
I kept quiet.
"Ella, you are more than enough."
To avoid her scowl and because I loved her more than
anything, I brought her back into a hug.
As I embraced her, I noticed another item on the other sofa.
It was not wrapped. It was just a plain cardboard box.
I pulled away and pointed to the package as I asked her
"What is that?"
Lana looked at it before answering "Stone left it. I guess it is
your birthday present from him."
As well as not reading the note, I would not be opening that
box.
"Put it in your room." I instructed her and fought against the
urge to run over there and open it "Keep the box from me.
There is a piece of paper in the kitchen from him as well. Put
it with it and hide it from me."
She watched me for a second before nodding once.
Then it was like she had remembered something because
her face lit up as she spoke "I also bought you a costume to
wear tonight."
"Oh no."
It was going to be a very interesting night.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Fifty-Nine
The party was in full swing. I could hear it. Yet, I still had not
seen it because I was too busy hiding in the bathroom
wearing the ridiculous costume that Lana had bought me.
"Get out here!" She called from the other side of the door "I
am sure it does not look bad at all."
Her idea was to dress me up as a fairy. I wore a pink satin
dress that ended mid-thigh and rainbow translucence wings
attached to the back.
I did look like a fairy. Maybe that was why she picked it. It
meshed well with my long bright hair, dainty features and
my wide eyes.
"I liked my idea of a costume better." I moaned while pulling
my dress down.
Lana sighed loudly "Wearing an orange dress and saying
you are a carrot is not a costume."
"It is an original idea!"
She banged at the door "Get out here. You are missing the
party!"
I finally surrendered and opened the door.
It was a big mistake. She was waiting there with a deadly
weapon. A makeup brush covered in glitter.
I closed my eyes and tried to push her off as she dabbed my
face with sparkles.
"What was that in need of?" I asked while wiping at my face
to get a handful of glitter off.
"So you look more the part." She answered while grinning
triumphantly.
Her costume was also pink. She had decided to dress up as
one of her favourite characters from a Barbie movie.
Something about a rockstar princess. Whatever she was
meant to be did not matter because she made it work.
"Ella?" She called to me sheepishly.
"Yeah?" I answered her.
"I knew that Brennan was in love with someone else." She
sighed as she rocketed nervously on her feet "He told me
the very first night we met."
I sent her a small yet confused smile "Why would you
choose to date him?"
"Because I thought I would be like Jennifer Lawrence in The
Silver Lining's Playbook. I thought I could make him like
me." She huffed out embarrassedly "I'm a fool."
I decided not to comment on the fact that The Silver Lining's
Playbook was about a lot more so I sealed my lips shut and
made my way over to her.
She wrapped her arms around me as I embraced her in a
hug. We squeezed each other tight for a good minute.
"Let's go downstairs." She said as she took hold of my hand.
"Okay." I agreed and let her drag me along the hall to the
staircase.
All I could hear was people speaking and shouting. It mostly
drowned out the headbanging music. The volume pretty
much gave away that there were at least a hundred people
in the one house.
We reached the bottom of the stairs and blended into the
crowd of already half-drunk teenagers. Some people I
recognised and some people I did not.
The first person that stuck out from the crowd was the
blonde quarterback.
Chase saw me and started to walk over. He had not made
much effort with his Halloween costume because he had on
an old letterman jacket with fake blood splattered all over it.
The only ghastly thing about his appearance was his nose
and unfortunately that was not fake.
"Hey." He smiled before sticking out his fist for a fist-bump.
I bumped it with mine and shouted over the music "Hey."
"You look great." He complimented while giving my costume
an appreciative look "What are you meant to be?"
"A fairy." I bit out so he knew that I was not happy about it.
Chuckling at my distressed expression, he reassured "Well,
you are the nicest looking fairy I have seen."
"Have you seen a lot of fairies?" I asked with a raised brow
before rolling my eyes "You need to get off the green stuff,
Chase."
He joined in with my laughter before seeing a friend of his
and leaving to go and speak with them.
Lana had disappeared to the other side of the living room
and was talking to a few girls from our French class.
Feeling kind of awkward in the middle of the room, I started
walking around mindlessly and greeted random people.
Some people were swaying to the music playing and singing
along so I just dodged past them.
Ten minutes later and I found myself in the kitchen. It was
probably the quietest place in the house. Which was weird
because it was where the alcohol was.
I ended up standing right where I was earlier that day with
Stone.
The song blaring from the speakers in the living room came
to an end. For a small pause, there was just a chattering of
people. Until the introduction of a very familiar song started
playing.
Teenage Dirtbag filled the house and my stomach sank.
I hoped Lana's speakers were not expensive because I was
planning on kicking them.
Questions ran through my head. Why would this song play?
This song out of all songs? Our song? It was nearly twenty
years old and was no longer seen as hip. It was also not one
usually played at a party.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the wings on my back flap
as I exhaled.
I missed him. I missed him so much.
"Hey, Sweetcheeks." A voice interrupted my train of thought
"What is your name?"
The owner of the voice was a boy dressed as a vampire. He
had on a lot of white face paint on but I did not recognise
him.
"My name is Ella," I smiled sweetly as I crossed my arms
over my chest before I bit out "And I do not entertain
random guys who flirt with me at parties."
He looked like he was about to say something else but a
hand on his arm stopped him. The boy who was dressed as
a vampire's friend was dressed up as a clove of garlic.
The garlic was looking at me in fear as he stopped his friend
from saying any more.
"Do you have a death wish?" The garlic asked to the
vampire before elaborating "That is Vulcan's girl."
The vampire looked back at me with raw terror on his face
as he asked "Is that true? Are you Vulcan's girl?"
There was no hesitation in my answer as I affirmed "Yes. I
am."
Both of them scurried before I could say any more. I laughed
at them as they ran faster than a bat out of hell.
Stone really was a big scary giant but he was my big scary
giant. I could not deny that any longer.
Just as I was about to go and find Lana, a buzzing came
from inside my bra. I reached into my chest and grabbed my
phone.
The caller did not have a name. It was just a random
number.
I declined but it rang again.
The number was not recognisable. I frowned at the screen
before pressing accept.
Knowing that I was not going to hear the caller in the middle
of a room of drunk teenagers, I ran past the crowd and
rushed up the stairs. I closed Lana's bedroom door behind
me as I pressed answer.
"Hello?"
The voice was male and it sounded like it was an older man
as the voice was strong and croaky "Hello. Is this Ella
Miller?"
"Last time I checked." I joked before clearing my throat and
replying properly "Yes. It is."
"Miss Miller, my name is Robert Smith." He introduced
himself before explaining "I am the CEO executive of Smith
publishing house."
"Smith publishing house?" I repeated in disbelief "As in the
biggest publishing company in the country?"
I thought someone was pranking me.
Lana was the only one to know about me sending my draft
but she was too nice to pull such a prank. Plus her light
lyrical voice did not go that deep. Not like the middle-aged
smoker voice on the other end of the line.
He hummed in agreement before speaking again "I am sorry
to be calling so late at night. I have been reading over the
manuscript that you sent. It is good. Actually, it is more than
good. We would love to publish it."
Moving my phone away, I got over my initial shock and let
out a squeal of excitement.
"Are you still there, Miss Miller?" The man called.
I quickly brought the phone back to my ear as I remained
cool and calm so I could reply nonchalantly "Yeah. I am still
here but are you sure you have the right person?"
"Are you Ella Miller?"
"Well yes." I confirmed before explaining "Ella is a very
popular name however. So is the last name Miller."
"It says here your name is Drizella," The man said after I
heard him clicking on his computer.
"Then it is me." I told him "I am sure only one person has
the absolute burden of that name."
He chuckled before continuing with the matter at hand "The
company would like you to sign a contract with us for three
books."
My book was originally a cliffhanger. It had an open end. I
was going to have to change that. I had to complete my
story.
"I would be honoured." I mentioned while still surprising
myself that I had not broken out into a happy dance.
"That is great." The man said before he informed me "We
have drawn up a ten thousand dollar cheque. That is for the
rights for the book but you will earn more once it hits selves.
We will discuss the details at a later date."
Still pacing the room because I could not stay still, I replied
"Thank you so much."
"We have your contact details already. We will be touch." He
promised before uttering a goodbye.
I said a quick goodbye before hanging up. As I got off the
phone and there was no need to reign in my excitement I
then twirled around on my toes and let out another large
squeal.
A massive wave of pride washed over me. My book was
getting published. I was going to be a writer.
I doubted my book would make it big but the news was
massive to me. It was my dream.
The only thing wrong about it was the person I wanted to
revel in happiness with was not here with me.
Once I had calmed down and stopped spinning, I spotted the
cardboard box on top of Lana's bed. On top of the box sat
Stone's essay. Never had a plain box and piece of paper
been so inviting. So tempting.
Lana had not hidden it as I told her to.
I caved. I threw my phone on Lana's bed before sitting on
the edge of the pink sheets. I lifted the piece of paper off
the box and brought it to my chest, holding onto it so tightly
that it started to crumble.
There was no doubt about it. His note and present was
Pandora's box. If I opened it then every emotion bottled up
inside would pour out of me.
It did not matter. I had already made my mind up.
There was no denying that I needed him.
The essay was handwritten in his neat cursive yet
aggressive handwriting. That was the first thing I noticed
about the essay. The second was the title.
I did not waste another breath. I read it.
 
Fairytale Green
Drizella Miller once told me she transcended stereotypes. I
think she transcends everything. There is nobody like her.
Nothing like her. If that girl told me she was from a different
planet then I think I would believe her.
The night I met her, she mentioned that she saw a green
light. So did I. It shone so brightly that I could see nothing
else but her. It still does.
In the Great Gatsby, the green light symbolises hope and
dreams. The one thing you want more than anything. She is
my green.
My fairytale green. The colour of trees at our outdoor
wedding. The colour of the grass I will sit with her when we
are old where we will shake our fist at skateboarders who
trespass. It is the green of her hair. It is her.
Yes, I remembered her whole speech about her colour word
by word from that night because I was a lovesick fucker
instantly. I fell in love with her the second I saw her. She
wears her wild and wonderful personality on her face for all
to see. Unashamed and beautiful.
I never gave her the name Medusa because her hair was
green. I gave her the name because my fate by her side was
sealed as soon as her doe eyes met mine. I will forever be
next to her, unable to move like a statue. The name is
ironic. Medusa turns people to stone by her gaze but I was
stone before her. She brought me to life.
She has a brightness about her that is so infectious and
there is no cure. The only time I feel at peace is when I see
the green. There is so much anger built up inside of me but
as soon as I see the colour, it fades away because I know
she is there. My mood depends entirely on her. When she is
happy I feel complete and when she is not then I know that I
would do fucking anything to put a smile back on her face.
I love how her nose crinkles when she reads and she is
trying to concentrate. I love how she crosses her arms and
stands on her toes when she gives it out to me. I love how
she has to drink tea in a cup that you cannot see through
because she is ashamed that she hates coffee. I love how a
blush covers her freckles when she is embarrassed. I love
her wacko theories and I go a little crazy if I go a day
without hearing one. I love how when she eats gummy
bears she bites the head off because she thinks she is
giving them a quicker death. I love how she dances and
slides around the kitchen when she thinks I am not
watching. I love how she owns three slipknot t-shirt's even
though she does not listen to them. I love how she tries to
deny that she has a big heart and that she does not cry at
books and movies. I love when she smiles so widely that she
looks down at the floor to hide it. I love everything about
her.
The word limit of this essay was meant to be five hundred
words but it is impossible to describe her in that short
amount. It is hard to describe her in words at all. She is a
synonym of surreal in the best fucking way. She is an
extraordinary dream that I have no intention of waking up
from.
 
He was my fairytale green too, I thought to myself, He was
my happiness and my future.
Only Valentine Stone would curse in an essay.
I really hoped this essay was just for me. I wanted to keep it
for myself forever. I wanted him forever.
Also, I hoped he did not submit the essay because it would
make Mr Dankworth die with happiness.
The door of the bedroom opened. It interrupted my third
reread of the paper.
I looked up and seen Lana grinning as she leaned against
the doorframe. There was nothing else but triumph in her
eyes as she gazes at the note in my hand.
"I knew you were not going to last long before eventually
giving up and reading it." She mentioned while sitting down
next to me on her bed.
"I really love him. It is not going to stop. I do not want it to."
I said aloud but quietly.
"It is about time you realised that." She giggled before
questioning "What was it that changed your mind?"
Setting the note down beside me, I turned to face her "My
book is getting published."
"What?" She erupted excitedly "That is amazing, Ella!"
"The phone call just gave me a boost." I told her "I needed
to know that I could do something and a reassurance that I
could be somebody."
Lana smiled as she spoke, "I am so happy for you."
I thanked her before I promised "I will dedicate the book to
you. My amazing yet annoying friend who clicked send on
the email to the publishers."
"Annoying?" She poked my arm as she feigned being
offended "You owe me so bad."
When we fell into silence was when I started thinking up
scenarios in my head that I dreaded for them to come true
"What if Stone is finally done with me? What if I have
pushed him away so far that he won't come back?" I
rambled on "What if I am not enough for him?"
She swatted my head with her hand in response.
"Ow!" I shouted at the impact while putting my hand on the
top of my head.
"Do not be silly." She scolded me while pointing her finger at
me accusingly "Sometimes I do think your dad was right
with that one quote he used to say about you."
"He said it all the time." I reminisced before I changed my
voice to a deep tone and quoted him "Ella, you have so
much knowledge and fact in your mind that there is not
enough room in your head for common sense or social
awareness."
Lana leant forward and reached around me so she could set
the plain cardboard box on my lap as she encouraged "I
think you should open his present."
The box length was longer than its depth. I racked my brain
for an idea of what it could be. I had never mentioned
anything that I wanted.
There was only one thing that I wanted at that moment and
it would need a much more colossal sized box to hold him.
I ran my nail over the taped seal on the top of the box and
opened the two flaps. I let out a small gasp at what caught
my eye.
The inside of the box was not plain. It was painted blue and
purple with white stars among it. Like a galaxy.
He had remembered what I told him in the hospital about
my dad. That my favourite gift was a plain cardboard box
because I could imagine it to be whatever I wanted it to be.
My dad had painted it like a galaxy. Stone had also. He
wanted me to have that feeling again.
Once I saw what was inside the box, I picked it up so I could
see the bouquet of flowers closer. A dozen or so roses
bloomed from their stem. They were beautiful and unlike
anything I had ever seen before. They were not a common
red or even white. On top of the dark green stem sat
beautiful petals that were a vibrant shade of green. Fairytale
Green.
Stone was kind of in love with me.
Smiling at the flowers, I decided to put them back in the box
until I found a vase for them. I set the flowers down gently
before I noticed that they were not alone in the box.
At the bottom of the galaxy painted box laid an envelope.
My fingers were shaking as I brought the envelope out and
into both my hands. Written in the white sealed paper was
Medusa written in his handwriting.
I looked up to see Lana was still watching me with a massive
grin on her face. She almost looked excited for me to open
it.
Tearing open the envelope, I pulled out what was inside. It
turned out to be another folded up piece of paper.
I secretly hoped that it was not another essay or a love
letter from him. I did not think my heart could take another
one.
The piece of paper was a booking confirmation that was
made a few weeks ago. A booking confirmation for two
plane tickets for next summer.
"He bought me a plane ticket to Brazil." I whispered in
absolute shock.
Stone bought me a trip to Brazil. He wanted to take me to
Brazil because I told him that was the one place I wanted to
go in the world.
I only mentioned my desire to go to The Royal Portuguese
reading room once but he had listened. He always listened.
He knew every part of me. Every single thing and he had
never turned away or tried to leave.
"He bought me a plane ticket to Brazil?" I repeated louder to
Lana because I was still completely amazed.
Lana giggled while stating the obvious "Well, I think he is
planning on going too."
"This is... I have no words."
"That is a first." She grinned at me before mentioning "You
were meant to open his present first before opening mine. It
made no sense that you did."
After a minute or two, I finally pieced it together "The swim
suit. It was blue and yellow. With my green hair, that is all
the colours of the Brazilian flag."
She nodded "That is why I got you that ugly swimming
costume."
"I liked it." I argued.
Her nose twitched in reply
Setting the sheet of paper on top of my flowers, I uttered "I
still can not believe he would do this for me. He got me
tickets to Brazil."
"He also got you two a villa to stay in." She told me "You will
not be sleeping on the streets."
"What!" I erupted before shaking my head "He has spent
way too much. I will be telling him that the next time I see
him."
After I have jumped into his arms.
I stood up from the bed urgently.
There was no point in sitting around and waiting. I was
going to get to him. We had spent far too long apart.
Lana called from behind me as I rushed to the door "Where
are you going?"
"I am going home."
My mother always told me home was not a but rather a
person. Stone was my person. He was my home. I was not
going to give that up and lose the only home I had ever
known.
He was the person I wanted to go home to. The one I
wanted to share everything with. My happiness and my
sadness. The good times and the bad times. Like I wanted
him to do with me.
"What?" She replied as we both make our way downstairs
and into the noise of the ongoing party.
At the bottom of the staircase, I turned around to her and
shouted over the music "I need to go to his fight. I need to
be there."
"You are dressed as a fairy. You do not even have shoes on."
She mentioned while pointing to my bare feet.
"I have to do this."
She nodded her head, studying my headstrong expression
"Then what are you waiting for?"
The group blocking the door was the jocks. Most of them
were too busy on their phone to see me trying to get past.
What I saw on one of their phones made me stop trying to
get past them.
"When does the fight start?" I shouted over the loud noise of
the crowd at them.
"Twenty minutes." One of them replied.
It would have been a really good time to have a car. Rest in
peace, Kermit.
"Ella. You are not going to make it." Lana pointed out.
"The beach is just a few miles away."
I said determinedly "I can make it."
"Yeah." She sarcastically remarked, "if you were a track
star."
I gave her a quick hug before I pulled back and said bye
"Thank you for organising this party for me. I will come back
after. I will see you soon."
"Go and get your man." She replied while gifting me a
gentle shove in the direction of the door but she did not
need to tell me twice.
Sprinting down the street as fast as my little legs could go, I
started to realise how unfit I was. I had always known but
after stopping about seventy-two times to catch my breath
it became apparent. Especially when I had to haunch over
and grip my knees at the exhaustion I felt.
For a second I consider joining Stone the next time he
worked out. Then I remembered that he got up at six in the
morning and I thought better of that idea.
Eventually, the beach came into sight so I picked up my face
for the last part. I got nearer and nearer until I could see the
moonlight shining on the water.
The night sky lit up with stars. I was just glad it was not
headlights from cars lighting up the streets. My attempt at
sprinting was ridiculous.
If anyone saw this pathetic excuse of my running then I
would just blame it on my injury. Or on the fact that I was
barefooted.
My toes touched the sand as I headed towards the
commotion. From the start of the beach, I could see the ring
of fire lit torches among the crowd of people talking among
themselves. The number of people still lingering around the
beach walkway meant that the fight had not yet started.
I walked closer and looked around for any sign of a person I
knew.
When looking around, I noticed that there was a large range
of different age groups among the people ready to watch
the fight. The fight club was rising in terms of popularity.
The crowd was much larger than it was the last time.
"Ella!" A familiar voice called.
I replied in pants as I asked Reed "Do you know where Stone
is?"
The red-headed male grinned "Thank god you are taking
him back. The moody fucker was a whole other level of
moodier this week."
"Where is he?" I repeated before motioning to the crowd "Is
it too late to talk to him?"
Reed shook his head "He is at his truck wrapping up his
knuckles. I think he is still at the parking lot."
"Thank you." I responded gratefully before I turned around
to go and find the giant.
As I rushed off, I heard Reed call from behind me "Tell him
that he is two minutes late and tell to get his overgrown self
over here!"
There were only a few cars in the lot right next to the path
down to the beach. Brennan's white car and Stone's truck.
Two shadows in the dark were between them.
I recognised my Lurch instantly. It was hard to miss the large
form. It was impossible not to notice the wide shoulders and
the well-built body that screamed danger.
He had his back to me. I could see the medusa tattoo on his
back and that lit me up with joy.
When I neared closer, Brennan peered around the giant's
shoulder and met my eye. He was grinning ear from to ear
while paying attention to me and not Stone's grumble of a
rant.
"I know this is an illegal fight club and you are somewhat a
criminal but surely you should still have some sort of time
management skills." I spoke up because I could not bare any
more time apart from him "You are two minutes late."
His dark tone withered away and he stopped. He froze
where he stood like he might have been imagining my
voice.
Then he slowly turned around.
The tension in his shoulders disappeared as he took in the
sight of me. He was staring at me with so much adoration in
his gaze that I could feel heat overtake my body. It was like
he was in a trance. He blinked a couple of times like he
could not believe that I was there.
After he realised that I was real then his eyes soaked up
every inch of me. A slow grin formed on his face when he
saw what I was wearing.
Stone looked at me like I actually was a fairy. Something
magical and beautiful. Like I was weird yet wonderful. He
always made me feel this way. I wanted that feeling to
remain for all of my life.
"I am sorry." I uttered because it was all I could manage.
He shook his head as his gravelly voice commanded me
"Come here now, Medusa."
Demanding ass. I would listen to him just this once.
My feet took off in a small run before I jumped. For a
second, I was flying like some otherworldly creature. Then
he caught me. He was always there to catch me.
I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist after I crashed
into his firm chest. My arms wrapped around the back of his
neck and my legs found themselves curled around his waist
as I buried my head into his shoulder. He tightened his grip
around me so that I was moulded to him.
He nuzzled his face in my hair and let out a deep groan of
content. Then he left a kiss on the edge of my lips. Right on
my smile.
I inhaled his scent before pulling away so that I could see
him. My smile was uncontrollable and my cheeks coloured
at his grin.
"What are you doing here?" He breathed out, his harsh
features struck with wonder.
There was so much that I wanted to say. There were not
enough words to describe how I was feeling. How happy I
was that I was there with him.
Instead of saying one of those options about how in love I
was, I ended up letting out "You can not buy me a trip to
Brazil. That is too expensive. I am not accepting it."
His deep chuckle vibrated through me as he peppered
kisses all over my face "That is what you came here to tell
me?"
"No. I came here to tell you that I love you and that I am so
sorry I got scared" I replied while feeling the edge of my lip
move up "Also to tell you that you spent too much on me."
"Deal with it. We are going to Brazil" He stated while
studying my face like he has been deprived of the sight for
too long "I would give you anything that you wanted."
I moved closer so that our foreheads pressed together as I
spoke  "I do not want trips or expensive gifts. I just want
you."
His hands moved up my cold exposed arms in an attempt to
warm them up. Meanwhile, he never let his attention drop
away from me.
"I am so sorry." I apologised again, feeling the need to "I
thought I was doing the right thing for you. I thought that
you would be better without me. I never once wanted to
leave you."
"You have nothing to be sorry about." He told me while
moving one hand off my hips to cup my cheek "I need you
more than anything in this fucking world."
The other large arms moved so that he could pull me closer
than close to his chest.
His voice turned softer and more vulnerable than I had ever
heard it as he pleaded "Do not leave me again."
"I will never." I promised him and myself "It was only three
days and I went crazy, Lurch."
"You went crazy?" He asked as his darkened eyes looked at
my lips "I was demented."
I kissed his jaw in another small apology.
"There is no reason for us not to be together." I affirmed,
"You won the bet."
"Fuck yes, I did." He assured, the words coming from his
chest in a dark rumble.
Stone appeared victorious as he leaned in. He was
determined to lay his lips on mine and bring every part of
our skin together.
Before he could, I slapped my hand over his mouth and
stopped him from kissing me.
I smiled sweetly at him while he glared.
He was furious at the privation. He looked like he might
have killed someone if he did not get to kiss me in the next
few seconds.
I felt the exact same but it had to be done.
As I moved my hand away, I told him firmly "I am kissing the
winner of this fight."
"You are what?" He gnarled, his face contorting to a
murderous one.
"I am kissing the winner of this fight." I said it again before
warning him "So you better win."
Another animalistic sound escaped him at my words.
"If you come back with a single scratch on you then I will kill
you." I leaned closer so he could see my stern expression up
close.
I was still scared of his fate in the fight and I needed to give
him the right motivation.
His stance and his expression made it clear that he was
ready for war. His jaw ticked in a steady rhythm as he flexed
his chest and arm muscles.
He then looked at me and his gaze immediately softened
before he pulled me back into his chest.
Stone kissed the top of my head multiple times while
whispering "I love you, Drizella."
"I love you, Valentine." I smiled into his chest, finally at
peace that I knew where I belonged which was by his side "I
love you more than gummy bears."
A chuckle filled my ear and I smiled as I snuggled into him
further.
I pulled back and added, "I would not have ran three miles
from Lana's house to the beach for just anybody."
Silence filled the air.
Then a growl shook the large chest.
"You did fucking what." His deep anger filled tone was a
dead giveaway that he was still insistent that I should be
resting with my injuries.
I should probably not have said that.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Sixty
I looked at his furious face and laughed nervously "You are
going to be late. Let's go."
Stone moved my legs so they were dangling in the air and
then he adjusted me so I was in his arms bridal style. I rolled
my eyes at his antics before I kissed his frown.
"Medusa, you are not leaving bed for a week."
"The day I listen to you is the day I grow taller than you." I
said while poking his chest and attempting to compete with
his glare "Never."
His mouth twitched and he was holding back a smile.
A cough interrupted our staring contest.
That was when I noticed Brennan had been there the whole
time.
He shook his head at the both of us while wearing his own
signature grin as he pointed out "That was the most warped
romantic moment I have ever seen. It was like the notebook
but with much more threats of violence."
A laugh escaped me before I maintained a serious face as I
said to the guy who's chest I was pressed to "You have to let
me go."
"No."
"Lurch, I will be in the audience."  I reassured him while
shamelessly feeling up his bare chest "I am not going
anywhere."
Brennan spoke up "She will be with me."
Stone dragged his attention away from me as he grumbled
“You will not let her out of your sight. If one hair on her head
is touched—"
"Yes. Yes. I know. I am a dead man" Brennan recited like it
was a written rule.
"You are insane," I stared up at the murderous expression as
I told Stone "but I will keep you."
He left a kiss on my forehead before he affirmed "You have
no choice in the matter. I am yours."
Once the giant had set me down on the ground, the
realisation hit me about what I was about to walk into. What
I was about to watch.
I clung onto his large arms in an attempt to keep him by my
side.
"I am coming back to you." Stone assured, picking up on my
unwillingness to let him go.
I nodded and let my hold on him go hesitantly.
Brennan and I made our way towards the crowd meanwhile
Stone headed off somewhere else.
The sea of people huddled up on the sand around the circle
of lit torches swallowed us. I was lost in the huddle and
relied on Brennan to lead the way to the front of the crowd.
We finally settled at the very front. Only merely a few
metres away from the circle where the fight would take
place. One of the torches was so near that I could feel the
heat of the naked flame on the side of my cheek.
While Brennan was on my left hand side, Reed stood on my
right. The red headed male was on his phone and had the
infamous Litora Bello page open.
The words Somnus versus Vulcan were written at the top of
the page in gold font. That was above the two options to
click on. The red thumbs down button and the green thumbs
up button.
The crowd shouted impatient by the wait. Two cameras in
either side of the ring rotated to capture the eagerness of
the crowd.
My eyes also landed on the two men who looked out of
place. They appeared like business men. Prim and proper
with their suit and tie.
I poked Brennan on the arm before motioning to the pair of
suits "Who are they?"
He followed the direction of my finger and what he seen
made him smile as he answered "They are scouts from a
sports programming network."
Looking up at him in confusion, I asked "What are they
doing here?"
Brennan glanced again at them before replying "Do you
remember what Stone said about trying to get Litora Bello
legalised?"
"Yeah." I answered back while I thought back to what he had
said at the hospital.
"My dad has been trying to get in contact with all sports
companies in the country to try and get this mainstream."
Brennan replied.
Both of my eyebrows raised in shock as I questioned further
"Is that what the phone call was about when Mr Lewis told
Stone to take the call outside of my hospital room?"
Reed responded instead "Stone has been insistent to get
this all legal. To make something of himself."
"Out of all of us." Brennan corrected.
"He is the best. He will go the furthest." The red haired male
replied.
That had landed a blow to Brennan's ego because he
mumbled "Well, I am a better surfer than him."
"Why would he go to such lengths?" I interrogated before
explaining "It is obvious that all of this is on the rise. It is
becoming more popular and you are all making more
money."
"Why do you think he is doing it?" Brennan challenged with
a smirk.
Chuckling, Reed over pronounced his words as he spoke "For
love."
The heat rose to my face. That time not because of the
proximity of the torches.  
A person entered the middle of the fighting ring. Someone
familiar. I had seen him before. Brown hair and a distinctive
scar over his eye.
The one Lana watched with interest on my laptop. The one
she could not take her eyes off as he fought.
"Who is he?" I queried as I watched him trying to settle
down the crowd "I know his name is Bacchus."
Brennan nodded "He is one of the fighters. Hendrix Jones."
"He is a dick. Really arrogant and thinks he is better than
everyone." Reed added "It was great seeing Stone knock
him on his ass."
"I heard he was in a band." I mentioned to them.
"He was. I think the other members could not stand him so
they left." Reed responded with a chuckle.
"Hendrix is planning on starting a band here in Santa
Monica." Brennan added "You should tell Lana. She is a good
singer."
From within the area lit with fire, the Hendrix guy spoke
loudly in his English accent "Ave caesar morituri te
salutant."
The crowd went wild. They started chanting the name of one
god like mantra over and over again. The god of fire and
blacksmithing.
Hendrix motioned to the right "Somnus."
Stone's opponent Somnus walked out of the crowd with his
hands raised in the air like he wanted everyone to cheer him
on.
They did not. Everyone booed Somnus.
Somnus was well built. Every person that took part in Litora
Bello was.
However, he was not as big nor as tall as Stone.
I studied him and found faults in the opponent. I had to hate
him. He was about to try and hurt my boyfriend. I seen him
as the enemy. I made a list of everything wrong with him so
that I would find no ounce of sympathy when Stone
destroyed him.
The Somnus guy had greasy hair styled in a stupid ponytail.
He also had a pathetic excuse of a beard growing on his
face and his teeth were yellow.
"Vulcan." Hendrix announced while moving his arm to the
left.
As Stone appeared from the side, the crowd exploded into
cheers and chants.
The giant made his way into the middle. His face was
completely stoic. He looked relaxed and unaffected by the
commotion around him. He had his gaze set on his prey.
There was not a single ounce of fear in his eyes. He looked
ready to kill.
The muscles under Stone's tattooed skin flexed as he
clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. His abs and
his biceps flexed as he walked into the circle.
Stone leaned closer to Somnus and whispered something in
his ear. The opponent of Vulcan paled as a response to
Stone's words.
After silence surrounded the space on the sand, Hendrix
took a step back and shouted "Pugna ad mortem."
Somnus took a defensive stance as Vulcan attacked.
Stone went for a jab to the stomach and then a full blown
fist to the face which made his opponent fall to the sand.
Instantaneously, Stone bent down and grabbed ahold of him
and raised his fist in the air.
Then he froze.
I watched the scene in shock. It all happened so fast. If you
blinked then you would have missed it.
From what I had gathered from watching all of his old fights,
Stone let the person he was fighting land a few blows before
fully attacking.
The fight was different to any others as Stone had struck
brutally hard and fast.
Reed and Brennan's expressions matched. Their mouths
were agape as they took in the scene in front of him.
"I have never seen him go as fast and as hard as that
before." Reed commented.
Brennan chuckled while looking down at me "Ella told him
that she was going to kiss the winner."
"That will be why Stone looks so savage and homicidal." The
tattooist joined in with the amusement.
As I watched Stone still with his face raised above the guy in
the floor, I asked "Why is he not finishing him off and
knocking him out?"
That is when I noticed the screaming crowd were
preoccupied on their phones. All were too busy clicking as
they waited patiently for the next part of the fight to
happen.
"People pay to vote for Ultima Ictu. The final blow." Brennan
explained "They will either pick thumbs up or thumbs
down."
Hendrix entered the ring to announce "Thumbs up."
Vulcan stood up and took a step away from a bashed up
Somnus who got up also from the floor.
"What does that mean?" I questioned frantically as I
watched the two fighters near eachother again.
"They have to keep going until the crowd decide it is time
for one of them to receive the final blow." Reed answered
my question "They have to fight again."
Somnus moved first. He grabbed on to Stone's thick arm
and tried to throw him on to the ground. Vulcan retaliated
immediately by grabbing him by his ponytail and ramming
his knee into his face.
Just as Somnus was about to react, Stone landed his fist on
his face. It made contact in the centre of Somnus' face over
and over again until he was on the ground once more.
Both of them stoped moving as the people in the audience's
phones lit up again.
"I thought this was the final of the season?" I said in
disbelief.
I was worried about Stone for nothing. The other guy who
was not my Lurch was dying out there.
"Somnus is one of the best fighters out there." Reed erupted
into laughter as he talked "I just think Stone has the right
amount of motivation. You should come to every fight and
threaten him with kisses, Ella."
While watching Stone stand over the other guy, I replied
"What is Somnus the god of?"
"Sleep."
"How fitting." I half laughed and half snorted "He does look
on the border of unconsciousness."
The British voice announced from the ring "Thumbs up".
"He has to fight again?" I exclaimed.
"Yeah but I do not think you have anything to worry about."
Reed joked.
I turned back to the fight in time to see Somnus land a solid
punch on Vulcan, making me flinch and bring my hands up
to my cover face.
Just as I thought another punch was about to be landed,
Stone dodged it and crashed his elbow straight into the
nose of Somnus. It was so powerful and fatal that blood
splattered on the sand just by my feet.
There was something about the way Stone moved. It was
calculating. Punishing. Utterly alluring yet ferocious.
As Somnus fell to the ground, the phones of the bloodlusting
crowd lit up again and hopefully for the last time.
My attention landed on a random boy that looked around
the same age as us. He was standing next to Brennan and
his finger lingered on the green thumbs up button.
There was no way that I was going to stand back and watch
the possibility of Stone getting hurt again.
I leaned forward to the boy and threatened "If you do not
press that red thumbs down button then I will shove your
phone so far up your ass that your mouth lights up like a
glow stick."
The boy peered at me before obeying my command and
voting yes to Vulcan landing the final blow.
Reed adjusted his glasses as he smirked at me "You are just
as terrifying as Stone."
Silence filled the arena-like atmosphere as everyone
awaited the results of the vote.
"Thumbs down!"
I looked away in time before the sound of bones breaking
filled the night air. I was getting used to the fighting club but
it was still overwhelming.
"Vulcan!" The announcer in the form of Hendrix walked into
the middle of the circle and said the name of the winner.
The audience also repeated the name of the blacksmith and
fire god at a high volume.
When I refocused back on the two boys next to me was
when I had realised that Brennan had moved to the other
side of me. He was standing nearer to Reed as they both got
ready to greet the pair of men in suits.
Suit man number one shook both their hands as he
assumed "You must be Neptune and Mercury."
Reed and Brennan nodded their heads in sync while
reaching out and shaking both of the men in suits' hands.
"We are very interested in making Litora Bello a mainstream
sport. We believe it has the potential to be just as popular
as football and baseball. Maybe more popular than both
combined." Suit Number One said to them "The figures that
your lawyer Mr Lewis sent was proof of that."
"That is great." Brennan commented while trying to appear
nonplussed but I could see the excitement in him.
Suit Number Two finally spoke "We do have a few concerns
though."
Reed was the one to question them "Can we ask what?"
"The theme of Litora Bello is well thought out. It is engaging
and people seem to love the gladiator feel to it." Suit
Number Two answered before elaborating "We have a
problem with a venue for the fights. Our contribution to
getting this mainstream also comes with the deal that the
location must be changed. This is a public beach. It cannot
remain here."
"Although we are struggling to think of another place where
the theme would fit." Suit Number One added.
I did not think any of it when I spoke up "Build a colosseum."
All four pairs of eyes fell on me.
"Build a colosseum in California. You know it is going to be
popular. Make an arena here in Santa Monica in the style of
the Roman Colosseum." I said before I cleared my throat
and continued "Who is going to challenge you for copyright?
Julius Caesar? Augustus? Another Roman emperor?"
Both the suits laughed before the first one said to the boys
"Is she in charge?"
"Stone is in charge of Litora Bello." Brennan stated before
adding humourlessly "However, Stone is wrapped around
her little finger so technically she kind of is."
The second suit man handed a card with the sports
company details on it and informed them to tell Stone to get
in touch. They also mentioned that they would be very
happy to make Litora Bello something and to build a
Colosseum.
Once they had left, I turned back to locate where Stone was.
I seen that he making his way over to me. Still topless but
now he had the blood of Somnus wiped off him.
He took long strides in my direction, not letting his gaze
leave mine. His huge form stopped right in front of me and I
could see the smirk forming on his face.
I crossed my arms and raised my brow at him "Can I help
you with something, Lurch?"
His voice grew thick and rough as he smiled down at me "I
am here to claim my prize."
With the largest grin I could manage, I then jumped up and
left a soft kiss on his cheek before teasing "There you go.
There is your kiss."
Instead of frowning or grumbling like I expected him to, he
smirked.
Then his hands were on my waists so he could lift me me up
to him. He lifted me so the height difference lessened and
he could put his mouth on mine. My legs wrapped around
his waist as his tongue met mine.
His kiss was soft and perfect yet savage too. He covered
every inch of my mouth as he claimed it as his own. I threw
my arms around his neck and he gripped at my waist,
demanding more.
The loud cheers of the crowd were a white noise. Everything
but us faded away. I clung to him and decide to never let go.
He slanted his mouth over mine again and again as I
reached up and clutch his hair in my hand.
I pulled back and rested my forehead against his while
smiling as I taunted "Imagine if I had to kiss the other guy
like that."
He growled before hoisting my body over his shoulder. He
rested one of his large hands on my butt as he started to
walk away from the commotion of the fight.
Reed called from afar "Do you not want to discuss the offer
from the sports company—"
Stone offered the two boys a glance over the shoulder while
walking away with me before he told them "Fuck off."
Rolling my eyes at his bluntness, I waved to Brennan and
Reed and they waved back.
My portion on his shoulder meant that I could watch as lit
torches and people of Litora Bello appeared further and
further away as he walked away from it all and in the
direction of the pier.
The giant then lifted me off his shoulder and arranged his
arms so one was under my legs and the other was holding
my back. I moved closer into his chest and watched him as
he smiled at me.
He took notice of my matching grin and pointed out "It is
unlike you to not argue about me carrying you."
"I have missed you." I admitted while shrug and then I
wiggled my legs "Plus I am so tired. I have wasted my
lifetime supply of running tonight."
He shook his head. He was still not happy that I ran. I knew
that I would most likely not hear the end of his disapproval.
However, his grumpy frown faltered when he looked at my
pink dress and translucent rainbow wings.
"I was forced into this costume against my will." I argued
Stone left a kiss on my neck as he spoke "I told you from the
start you would make a great Puck."
I smiled at the memory of the first day back at school when
he said that Puck from Midsummers Night Dream was the
character that suited me most. That felt like such a long
time ago.
We had come so far since then. We had been through so
much but we were still standing. Together .
"Back to what I was saying before," I got back to bickering
with him because that is what I done best "You should not
have spent so much money on me. You are returning the
tickets. I still can not believe you would do that for me."
"Believe it." He said sternly in his rough voice "We are going
to Brazil. Even if I have to stuff you into my suitcase. You are
small enough to fit."
Swatting his chest, I stuck my tongue out at him.
"I loved the roses. They were beautiful." I told him as I
reminisced about what else was in the galaxy box "How did
you get fairytale green ones?"
He did not quite meet my eye as he grumbled "I painted
them."
"You are such a romantic," I teased while smiling as my
cheek pressed against his chest "And a nerd. You have been
reading too much Alice in Wonderland."
Stone sent a glare my way.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that my book is getting published." I
tried to deliver nonchalantly but I failed miserably because I
was pretty much jumping up and down in his arms.
"No way." His voice came out deep and musical and he
appeared even more excited about my news than I was
"That is amazing, Medusa baby."
"I know." I let out a small squeal "I am trying not to get my
hopes up but I really want to do well."
"You will, Ella." He stated sternly, showing how much he
believed in me "I will be at every one of your book signings."
I rolled my eyes because he was getting way too ahead of
himself but I could not fight the smile forming on my face.
"I will be at every fight of yours." I promised him "I will be
the best heckler."
He kissed my head in response.
"It is a good thing I am back with you." I admitted "I kind of
named the evil space lord in my book Balentine Bone."
We arrived at the start of the pier. It did not seem like he
was planning to take me anywhere specific. It was like we
were both drawn to the place where we both met.
He kept walking but he never took his eyes off me as he
cradled me to his chest.
"When is your birthday?" I randomly asked before smirking
up at him "Is it Valentine's Day?"
"No."
"Fine then. Do not tell me" I huffed before sending an empty
threat his way "No birthday sex for you."
Stone seemed amused and unconvinced.
He tilted his head while asking with a cocky grin "So you are
only going to let me have my way with you on my
birthday?"
"And my birthday." I added, fighting back a giggle "Also
every day it is somebody in the world's birthday."
His head fell back a little as he let out a deep laugh that
vibrated from his chest and into me.
"It is a few people's birthday every day." He pointed out,
realising what I was hinting at.
"You make a convincing point, Lurch."
"My birthday is the fifteenth of February." He told me
eventually.
"That means you will be twenty-two in a matter of months."
I mentioned as I laughed "Who knew I was with such an old
man."
Stone sent another glare my way.
"It is okay, Lurch." I told him "It only means I can get rid of
you to the nursing home earlier."
"You are never going to get rid of me."
He set me down on my feet near the railing at the edge of
the pier that overlooked the water below. Some time ago, I
would feel sick leaning over and looking down. It did not feel
so scary anymore. The unknown did not look so uncertain
and intimidating because I could feel his arms around my
waist and the feeling of his chest against the back of my
head.
I knew he was there to catch me.
I moved my head upwards so that I could stare into his eyes
as I spoke "Just so you know. I do not have any intention of
having you win any future bets between us."
The warm breath from his mouth hit my neck and I could
feel him smile on my skin.
"We already have a wager set in place." He lowly informed
me "I have every intention of winning. You do not stand a
chance."
Watching the waves crash again the wooden structure
below, I hid my smile as I remembered the bet we had made
in the Armstrong's backyard.
I decided that I would let him win that one.
"Did you know the night that I met you I got a fortune from
a machine psychic?"
He asked "What did it say?"
"That I would meet an annoying giant that I was going to
have to put up with for the rest of my life."
"I doubt it said that." He chuckled.
"It said I would meet my soulmate."
His grip on my waist tightened as he replied "I never needed
a piece of paper that night to know that."
A green light from across the water shone and I thought to
myself that I would be okay. Time would heal all wounds and
one day I would look back at the memories and only focus
on the good ones. One day I would remember my mother
and father with only love and not as much pain. 
"Medusa." He uttered huskily, capturing my attention.
I turned around and stood on my toes so that I could wrap
my arms around the back of his neck.
"Yes, Lurch?" I asked.
"I have a theory."
My mouth twitched as I shook my head and scolded him
"Hey, that is my line."
His nose touched mine and he left one gentle kiss on my
lips.
"I think Drizella is going to live happily ever after." Stone
revealed.
"That is not a theory." I recited the words he said to me
when he painted my walls and my heart a fairytale green
colour "That is the truth."
I used to believe fairytales were not real and that happily
ever after was only something you found among the pages
of a book. I was wrong. Fairytales are real.
Anyone who says different has just has not found it yet. It is
out there and you just have to reach for it. You have to fight
for it.
I would fight for it. I would fight for myself and my
happiness because out of all of my theories, the thing I
believed in most was myself. I needed Stone in a romantic
way but I would never need him to stand on my own two
feet. I could do it on my own but I wanted him there with
me.
I wanted him more than anything.
My fairytale was not traditional. There were no pumpkins,
magic or princes. Mine was twisted, crooked and angry but
was it was mine. It was reality and mine was so much better
than any story.
It was him. It was me. It was us. It was imperfectly perfect
and there was no happily ever after because there was not
an end.
The end was nevermore.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Epilogue
The sun danced on my back and warmed the skin up.
However, it did not warm me as much as the mouth that
was trailing kisses down my spine.
"Lurch!" I groaned into my pillow in annoyance that he was
disturbing my sleep.
Large hands rested on my hips and applied a small amount
of pressure to raise my nightdress further up my body.
Before he could pull the material past my midsection, I
turned around so that I was laying on my back and glaring
at him.
Stone did not waste any time. He started kissing my face
before moving down to my neck and taking the skin
between his teeth.
I was about to succumb to the feeling and him but I decided
to torture him further. I rested my palms on the hard chest
and pushed the big boulder of a man back.
Not far enough that he was not on top of me though.
The dark black irises were dilated as they stared down at
me. The harsh mouth was up in a smirk too.
His small smile was contagious and I could not help but
smile back.
"Morning Medusa." The gravelly voice rasped.
"Do not Morning Medusa me." I scolded but kept my hands
firmly on his muscled chest "Can I ask why you are waking
me up at this time?"
The hand with the skull tattooed on it moved the green hair
out of my face as he grumbled out with no shame "I have
not heard one of your theories in eight hours."
A giggle escaped me "Really? That is why you woke me up?
"Really." His deep voice was closer to my ear as he left
another kiss on my neck "I have not seen you in four hours."
"You are so cute, Lurch." I teased as I moved my hands from
his chest to cup his face.
He sent a scowl my way. It was his permanent scowl but a
more diluted version he had reserved for me and our
children.
My eyes travelled downwards as I noticed that he had
clothes on. His white dress shirt had the top two buttons
undone which showed off a part of his chest tattoos.
However, you could still see all tattoos on his midsection
because they were visible under the thin white material. I
could also see his bulging muscles and his eight-pack.
"Why do you have clothes on?" I questioned unhappily.
His small smile grew when he replied "I had to run into the
the workshop because Reed fucked up something with the
colosseum."
I nodded before pouting "Why did you not wake me up to
say goodbye?"
One of his black eyebrows raised as he cocked his head.
My amusement quickly turned to concern when I pointed
out "You did not have any sleep last night."
"I wanted to spend time with my wife." Stone uttered deeply
while continuing to comb his hand through my hair.
I knew he was busy with Litora Bello and his other
businesses and that he liked to work early in the morning so
that he could come back before me and the kids woke. It
still made me anxious that he was not getting enough sleep
though.
"I am worried about you, Lurch." I told him quietly.
His face contorted quickly to an expression of concern as he
gazed down at me. His jaw ticked rapidly as he studied my
face that was filled with distress.
"You do not have to be, baby." He assured me before leaving
a gentle kiss on my head "Please do not worry."
It was always a concern of mine but I tried my best to be
supportive of him. Every night before bed, I would cook up
some apple pancakes and leave them on the kitchen
counter for him to have in the morning.
My hands reached up and started to unbutton his shirt
slowly as I sent him an innocent smile. He watched me with
a soft look in his eyes as I pulled the shirt off him. His eyes
never left my face as I gripped his wide shoulders and
brought him closer to me.
I ran my hands along his bare back as I kissed up from his
chest to his chin. I ran my tongue along his jawline to the
skin near his ear.
"Are the kids still sleeping?" I whispered against his earlobe.
He let out a dark noise from the bottom of his chest as he
pressed every inch of himself on top of me. His huge hands
started roaming around my body as his mouth latched onto
my neck and started to move downwards toward my chest.
I stopped his devouring of me by turning over on the
mattress and yawning "Then you can get some sleep."
Silence.
Stone then started grumbling under his breath and by the
sounds of it, he was about a millisecond away from killing
someone.
"Get in the bed now, Lurch." I said sternly while holding my
arms up and getting ready to embrace his large body "You
need sleep."
"I need you." He growled but climbed in the bed anyway.
His arm wrapped around my waist as soon as his back hit
the mattress. He picked me up with one arm and without
effort while he brought me onto his chest. I cuddled into his
huge frame as he kissed the top of my head.
"I love you, my little nymph." He lowly declared.
I sat up but kept my legs straddled at each side while
looking down at him with a grin "I love you too."
He closed his eyes for a few seconds before he looked up at
me with tenderness and adoration in his darkened gaze.
"I want one of your theories." He demanded meanwhile his
hand moved to grip my hips.
"My theory is that you have the stamina of a horse." I stated
rather than argued because I was too preoccupied with
thoughts of him to think of anything else.
"Is that so?"
"And you are also evil, Valentine Stone." I teased "You keep
me up all night then wake me up early in the morning."
His expression went serious when he nodded "Fine. I will let
you sleep tonight."
My silence lasted a staggering two seconds.
"No!" I yelped and swatted his chest gently "Don't you
dare."
Stone burst out laughing. The deep noise sent vibrations
through my body as he pulled me close and rested his
hands on my butt.
"You were never really going to let me sleep tonight, were
you?" I asked, knowing that he had played me like a fiddle.
"No." He chuckled.
I relaxed the side of my head on his chest and occasionally
moved my lips to leave a kiss on his tattoos as I traced
them with my finger.
A smile made its way onto my face as I looked out of the
window of our bedroom. The sun was rising out of the
horizon and lighting up the shining waters.
My heart was split into seven equal pieces. One part was
reserved for my husband and the other six were for my
sons. My heart had to have been big because that is where I
held them all. With so much love and adoration for each and
every one of them.
Little feet hitting against the floor from the hallway made
me laugh. The collection of stomping from the small feet
made me close my eyes and pretend to sleep.
Every morning my little pebbles would run into the room
and wake me up. I pretended to be asleep every time
because I never wanted them to stop coming to visit me in
the mornings.
They had inherited their tenacious behaviour from their
father.
Stone knew what I was doing and chuckled when the boys
entered the room.
The bed moved slightly under the weight of the six small
newcomers as tiny quiet laughs filled the air.
"Do not wake up your mother." The biggest hypocrite in the
world aka my husband said to the children while he reigned
back his amusement.
I had passed down the ability to defy Stone to my kids
because they all started shouting as they climbed on top of
me.
"Momma! Wake up!"
"We want apple pancakes, Mom!" Another little voice called
"Dad ate all the ones in the fridge because he is greedy. Just
like you said he is."
Small hands cupped my face and squished as they moved
around on the bed excitedly and impatiently.
"Daddy has not had your kisses in a whole minute! I think
he might die!" My youngest screamed in my ear, trying to
gain my attention.
I bit my lip and buried in my face into the pillow to keep
myself from laughing.
Two pairs of hands moved my head away from the pillow
and tapped my face gently.
"Momma is so pretty." One of my sons shouted.
"Her hair is so pretty too." Another voice praised while
tugging at it "Fairytale green is the bestest colour."
"Dad!" A tiny yet ferocious tone accused "Why would you
call it puke-coloured?"
Stone sighed then grumbled, "I only said it once."
"That is not nice." My eldest scolded "It is also not nice
saying that Mom belongs in a haunted mansion."
"Sorry." My husband huffed regardless of the fact that it was
the millionth time they had brought it up.
I imagined six pairs of black eyes glaring at the large giant.
"It okay, Dad." A few of them said together in unison
"Momma loves you now."
My laughter could no longer be contained. I giggled before
opening my eyes and facing the angry wrath of my sons.
"You are awake!" They shouted while all jumping into me in
one big huddle.
Stone watched the scene with a shiny gleam in his black
eyes as I kissed all of them on top of the head and hugged
the six bodies close to my chest. I then repeated peppering
their small faces with kisses again.
They then moved from my embrace to go and attack their
Dad. Stone held them close to his chest and kissed the side
of the heads in the same place I did.
I shuffled across the bed and squeezed myself into the
heap. The large arm keeping them huddled together moved
so that I could rest my head against my husband's shoulder.
The boys moved back and smiled at us. All with their
matching black hair, black eyes and a tiny hint of a smile on
the edge of their mouths.
They all looked like a miniature version of Stone.
Our sons were so special. They were unique in their own
individual way but there were some similarities between
them and the giant. Their appearance being one of them
and their intelligence and quietness being the other.
I had six grumpy boys and one grumpy man to deal with.
Permanent scowls and glares were a running theme.
Especially to people who were not part of our family. All of
my boys were incredibly quiet when having to deal with
others. They were only loud and wild when in the comfort of
their own home and with Stone and me.
I was never left alone and I would not change a thing.
Perseus was ten and to my horror, he reached my shoulders.
He was the little fighter of the family and had a keen
interest in martial arts. Anything to do with fighting, Percy
did it. The shock still has not lessened when I thought back
to his first fight when he won against his forty-year-old
instructor.
The fate of our next sons was sealed when Stone and I
made a bet. It was a night when we were having a nerd-off.
We took turns asking each other questions about books and
the person with the most right had the power to name our
future children. I won and that influenced the next five boys
name.
Edgar was conceived two months after I gave birth to
Perseus. My second born was a welcomed surprise. He was
going to be a writer just like me. He often sneaked into my
office when I was writing and gave me weird and wonderful
ideas to create stories about. I wrote and read them to him
for bedtime stories.
Gatsby was probably the craziest seven year old to exist. He
was an alien enthusiast and theorist. His bedroom ceiling
was filled with glow up stars and he always dragged Stone
and me to his room to look at his telescope. His birthday
was last week and Stone managed to threaten the
government to let him have a trip to Area Fifty-One.
Fitzwilliam liked bossing people around and glaring at them.
He was six and he liked to read the newspaper and keep up
with the numbers in the stock markets. Stone thinks that he
is going to be a businessman and I could not help but agree.
Fitz was good at silently analysing people and situations
which he definitely did not get from me.
Heathcliff was the fixer-upper of the family. He liked building
and fixing things. The four-year old's favourite place was his
Dad's workshop where he could learn about cars and
engines. There are at least four cars in our garage stripped
apart for Heath to play around with and learn the ways of
mechanics.
Rochester was the baby of the family. He had just learned
how to string a full sentence together but he was smart. I
could tell by the way he watched us that he knew what was
happening. Baby Rock's favourite thing was riding his little
toy motorbike around the house. He was fast on it and I was
worried about how much of an adrenaline junkie he would
become when he grew up.
Stone had a few things to say about the names I chose for
our children. A lot of those things were grumbles and curse
words. He had to deal with it though because he lost the
bet.
"Mom." Gatsby called to gain my attention before he told
me "Dad said a bad word this morning."
I narrowed my eyes at Stone before I asked "What did he
say?"
"It rhymes with the name of the fairy from Midsummers
Night Dream, Mommy." Heath said before covering his
mouth with his small hands and laughing.
"We heard him on the phone and he was shouting at
someone." Percy joined in on the elaborate plan to wind
their father up.
"That is ridiculous." I agreed with my sons and swallowed
down a giggle as I pretended to be mad at Stone "What
should his punishment be?"
"No kisses from Momma for a week." Fitz insisted.
Stone gnarled unhappily "No."
I hummed and pretended to be thinking about it "What do
you think, Edgar?"
"No kisses from Mom for a month." He replied.
"No." Stone said again but louder and deeper.
The giant appeared like he was about to have a full-on heart
attack.
"Okay." I agreed and sent a mischievous grin to my kids.
"Medusa, I swear to fu—"
I cut him off by placing my hand over his mouth. I stretched
upwards and kissed his jaw and then moved my hand away.
He glared but then his gaze softened when I sent a smile his
way.
Baby Rock made grabby hands at me so I picked him up and
placed him on my lap before giving him a kiss on his head.
He let out a content laugh which made us all start laughing
too.
"Dad!" Heath called out before choosing to continue the
torture on Stone "Remember that time you called Mommy a
witch."
"They live to torment me." Stone grumbled under his breath
but he had a content hint of a smile on his face as he said it.
"Boys, stop bullying your father." I told them while biting
back my smile.
"Sorry, Dad." Perseus apologised but with an evil smirk.
Baby Rock chimed in from my lap "Sorry."
"We love you." Heath assured him as they all moved closer
to the large man to give him a group hug.
Stone moved quickly. He stood up and grabbed onto the
foot of four of them. In one large hand, he had Edgar and
Perseus hanging upside down and in the other, he had Fitz
and Gatsby hanging too. They swung around due to the
towering height of the giant.
I held on tightly to the remaining two children. Not to save
them from being carried upside down but rather to save
myself. I knew that my husband liked to pick me up
occasionally.
When I say occasionally, I really meant always. Stone lifted
me up and kept me firmly against his chest when he wanted
my attention and that was a good few times every ten
minutes. He would pick me up at random times and keep
me levitating in his arms until I gave up and kissed him.
The four boys that were upside down in the air got thrown
onto the bed. They bounced a few times screaming and
laughing. Stone then picked up the other two and spun
them around but much more carefully because they were
younger.
"Mom?" Edgar questioned, "Were you ever not nice to Dad?"
Memories of us bickering and name-calling and me
pretending to hate him came to mind and I could feel my
face light up.
"No." I crossed my arms and gazed at the love of my life as I
spoke "I have always been nice to your Dad."
Stone cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. The side of
his mouth tilted upwards as he watched me.
His smile disappeared and a scowl took its place when he
addressed the boys "Your mother thought that I was going
to be your uncle."
Six pairs of widened black eyes looked to me. Seven frowns
were now in the room.
All of my sons were very protective and possessive of me.
One time at a birthday party, I picked up a baby to give
them a small cuddle and all six of my boys were grumbling
and glowering. They all wanted my attention twenty-four-
seven.
"What?" Percy questioned.
"Silly mommy." Baby Rock said while cupping my face and
lightly tapping.
I narrowed my eyes at Stone "You proved me wrong, did you
not?"
"Damn right I did." My husband stated proudly while puffing
out of his chest.
"Why would you say such a thing, Momma?" Fitz asked with
a confused look on his face.
Gatsby spoke up "Was it because you did not like Dad?"
"Or was it because everyone is scared of Dad?" Heath
insisted.
"Lurch is the biggest softie in the world." I said as if they
needed me to say it when they witnessed every day how
soft he was for his family.
"Then why did you say Dad was going to be our uncle?"
"I did not want your Dad to know that I was falling in love
with him." I explained truthfully "I knew when I said it that
he would be my husband. I was just too scared to admit it."
Stone's eyes met mine. Even after fourteen years, his gaze
still made me feel all giddy and warm inside.
He was still the person who pushed me like no other and
challenged me to do new things. He was still my biggest
supporter and the person who made me laugh like no other.
He was still the person I could tell all my theories to and talk
books to while I cuddled into his huge frame.  He was still
the person who gave me butterflies and set my body on fire.
He was still the man I loved most.
Valentine Stone was still the person I came home to.
"Uncle Brennan says that Mom named us after the book
men she loves more than you." Fitz jumped on the bed with
an evil grin as he said it.
"Uncle Brennan is going to end up dead in a ditch." Stone
rebutted with a scowl.
I ran a hand through my hair frustratedly as I sighed.
The black eyes of my husband scanned me head to toe. The
gesture was full of possessiveness like he was trying to
claim me with his gaze.
Stone turned to the kids and asked  "Who knows what
Fahrenheit Four-Five-One is?"
"Lurch." I gritted out in warning.
Percy frowned confusedly "Is that the story where they burn
the books?"
"Well done, baby." I gushed proudly and reached over to kiss
the top of Perseus's head.
"We are recreating it. We are having a bonfire in the garden
and burning all of your Mom's books." Stone commanded
the small army in a deep and demeaning voice "Go and get
all of the books that you are named after from her library."
The six small bodies gave a salute before running out of the
room.
As soon as they left the room, I got up from the bed and
walked around to where my evil tyrant of a man was
standing. I stood a few steps away from him and tilted my
head upwards so I could send a glare his way.
I pointed a finger up at him accusingly "Do not touch my
books."
His hungry obsidian eyes were too busy travelling
downwards to notice my pointed finger. His gaze lingered on
my shiny silver nightdress that clung to my body like liquid
mercury.
He took one large step towards me then his movements
turned desperate and full of haste. He leaned down and put
his hands on the back of my thighs before hoisting me up
effortlessly off the ground. My legs wrapped around his
waist and my arms around the back of his neck as I clung to
him in the air.
"I want to kiss my little wife." He rumbled determinedly.
Our lips met in one fast movement as his hands dragged
through my hair and brought my face closer to his. His
tongue brushed with mine softly yet harshly. He dominated
the kiss and my body as he let his large calloused hands
roam over my skin. He bit my bottom lip before he
deepened the movements of our tongues.
Stone sat back down on the bed but never once broke us
apart. I was now firmly secured on his lap as he kept his
tight grip on my butt.
I pulled back and out of breath when I remembered
something "I have a bone to pick with you, Valentine Stone."
He cocked his head and watched as I sent him a glare.
"Do you know what your sons got up to yesterday at the ice
cream store?" I rhetorically asked because he was going to
be hearing about it regardless of his answer.
There was no reply from the giant.
"The six of them glowered and growled at a guy who tried to
talk to me." I shared "The man ran away and he looked
genuinely frightened for his life."
A mix of amusement and anger crossed the strict features
of his face. Amusement about what the kids did and anger
that some guy tried to approach me.
"Is there anything you would like to say about our children's
behaviour?" I challenged.
A pause later and Stone uttered lowly "I have trained them
well."
I shook my head and tried my hardest to seem unhappy
about his ways.
"I want to lock you in our damn room and never let you out."
He grumbled darkly while burying his face in the creek of
my neck "Too fucking tempting."
His stubble tickled against my skin and I giggled while
wrapping my arms around him tightly.
"I can't make you apple pancakes if you do not let me out of
the room."
"I do not need them." Stone left a soft kiss on my neck
before he met my eyes and spoke gravelly "Not when I can
taste you."
"Once a caveman. Always a caveman." I muttered but loud
enough for him to hear.
The giant smirked my way before he lifted me off his lap and
dropped me down onto the mattress. He climbed on top of
me so that he was towering me and we were face level
His words were spoken with full confidence of a man who
was never challenged "The whole fucking world knows that
you are mine."
Stone was only ever challenged by me.
"I did not know that." I gasped sarcastically "It is totally not
like you tell me that every day of our lives."
He chuckled before gracing me with one of his rare and
genuine smiles.
"The whole world knows that you are mine." I informed him
while shaking my head "Mainly because some crazy man
got a tattoo of Medusa on their back."
The amused smile he had on his mouth was felt against my
skin as he trailed kisses to my ear and started whispering
sweet nothings in my hear.
Well, they were not very sweet. They were actually the
opposite of sweet. The course and fouls words from his
mouth left my body feeling heated and that heat travelled
down to my toes and back up again.
"I do not blush!" I blurted out as I hid my face in his chest as
he pulled back to see me.
His black irises were centred on my face when he laughed
disbelievingly "Of course you do not, baby."
I cupped his stubbled jaw and kissed it because I whispered
"Your genius peaked at the idea of getting soundproof walls
installed."
The mouth up in a smirk twitched a few times and I reached
out to touch it as it did so.
"Actually thing about it..." I tapped my chin and grinned
"That is the only time you have ever been a genius."
A black eyebrow raised as he imposed "Really?"
"Maybe not." I hummed "You did choose to marry me."
Stone's expression went serious as he nodded "The best
fucking decision of my life was going to the pier that night."
I smiled lovingly up at him.
"I love my Medusa and my pebbles."
"I love my Lurch and my pebbles." I said back
instantaneously before trying to slide out from underneath
the huge man.
It did not work. Fourteen years of Litora Bello and more
years fighting had made him so immovable that he barely
budged an inch. If I thought he was bad when he was
twenty-one then this was a whole lot harder.
"Where are you trying to go?" He questioned keeping his
hands fisting the material of my nightie.
"You better not rip that!" I scolded "I signed up for a
professional fighter for a husband. Not a professional
clothes tearer."
"Where are you going?" He asked again but with a small
smile on his face this time.
"To make my pebbles some breakfast." I replied while
wiggling out from underneath him.
"I will make it if you want to go and see them." He offered.
"No!" I blurted out and tried not to shake my head violently.
Stone had many skills but cooking turned out not to be one
of them. I had taken the time to try and teach him but he
ended up getting distracted and burning something. One
time I gave him the easiest job of putting some chilli mix
into a taco shell and he could not even do that without
crushing the food under his strength.
His playful scowl lit up his features when he realised I was
referencing his horrible cooking.
"I don't want to die!" I drawled out dramatically "Ella is short
for Drizella. Not salmonella."
"Do not talk about you dying ever again!" He growled and
he was completely serious.
I rolled my eyes at his antics before I left the room and
headed down the marbled stairway of our house.
Green Gables was the only house in a few miles radius. It
was secluded and away from the busy life of the city. Our
home was large and very green. Every corner of the house
was covered in the shade that matched my hair perfectly.
Even the six boys chose to have their room a shade of
green.
The stairway was no exception. I ran my hand along the
emerald coloured walls as I descended the steps.
My journey down the stairs came to an abrupt end when I
was lifted off the ground and pulled into the chest of a large
man. Stone continued to walk down the stairs with me in his
arms bridal style.
I noticed that he had put a shirt on. Unlucky enough for me.
"Why am I getting carried down the stairs?" I asked,
knowing that arguing to be put down was no use.
"You are walking around with no shoes on and I do not want
your feet to get cold." He stated as if it was a normal
explanation.
"Any excuse to pick me up." I mumbled while pretending to
glare at him.
His lip twitched once.
I stared at his incredibly sexy face as I shared my thoughts
"I think after years of marriage, we are supposed to be a
little less obsessed with each other."
Stone kept his attention firmly on me when he let out a
deep noise from his chest "No."
"You—" I began but got cut off.
"No."
"Give me strength." I huffed out frustratedly.
"Medusa baby." Stone uttered quietly and in his gravelly
voice "I need to tell you something."
I studied his expression as his eyes did not quite meet mine.
His tight on me strengthened and he left a quick kiss on my
cheek.
"What did you do?" I asked wearily.
A few seconds passed before he finally revealed "I bought
the boys a gym."
"You did what now?"
"Perseus needs someone where to train. He loves his marital
arts." Stone tried to argue "Also Edgar, Gatsby, Fitz, Heath
and Rock might want to take it up."
"Rock is barely three." I shouted in frustration "I cannot
believe you bought them a whole freaking gym."
"Can't say no to them." The giant repined "They give me the
same look you do."
I took a calming breath before I yelped "What do you mean
by that? All of them look like you!"
"But they give me the big sad eyes and the small pout." He
raised his voice as he walked along the hall "I can't say no
to them."
"A lot like their dad." I remarked and I could not hold back
my smile "They are all just like you. Demanding and
dictating."
A weird expression flicked over the strict and scary features
of him. His jaw ticked a few times and he stared out into the
distance with a glint of sadness in his eye.
I cupped his rugged face and gently made him look at me as
I whispered "What is wrong?"
He responded hoarsely "I don't want them to be like me."
My smile dropped as I shook my head.
"You are the best man I have ever met. You are the best
husband and the best dad." I professed between leaving
small gentle kisses on his lips "I want our kids to take that
from you and I am so happy that they to look up to you."
He knew that our sons took after him. They were scary,
intelligent, quiet, impatient and very cute.
Stone's obsidian eyes widened and they were incredibly soft
as he stared down at me "Really?"
"Really." I affirmed, "Of course you are the best man I have
ever met. Why do you think I married you?"
Small laughs were heard from the other side of the door
which led to the library. A library which Stone had built to
resemble The Portuguese Reading Room which he gave to
me for our tenth wedding anniversary.
It was Edgar that called through the door "Uncle Brennan
says that Mom only married Dad for his leather jacket."
"No, Edgar." Fitz argued with a tone of someone who knew
best "Uncle Brennan says it was because Momma wanted
his motorbike."
"Boys." Stone scolded in a scary tone even though he was
chuckling under his breath.
"You rang, Lurch?" The six of them chorused together from
behind the door.
As soon as I was set down on the ground, I tiptoed over to
the door and pulled it open quickly to scare them. All six of
my pebbles screamed in laughter and then all cuddled up
and stuffed their faces into my stomach and my back.
Stone joined the huddle by wrapping his arms around me
and picking two of the boys up.
"We collected the books, Daddy." Rock cheered while
cuddling into the huge muscle-filled chest.
"You are not burning my books." I told my boys sternly.
"Of course not." The giant agreed before adding "We will
keep the books you wrote. They are my favourite."
"Mommy is the best writer!" Heath praised while latching
onto my leg.
"Yeah!" The other five small boys agreed with firmly with a
sharp nod of their head.
Gatsby reached upwards and flapped a piece of paper in my
face until I took it "I drew you a picture of us."
I kissed the top of his head before I studied the picture.
Stone was the largest thing in the drawing, his feet reached
the bottom of the page and his head the top. Next to him
and standing at his leg were six small boys.
"Where am I?" I asked with an upset pout.
Percy was so tall that he did not even have to stretch to
whisper into my ear "You are the fairy, Mom."
The fairy with green hair that was drawn on the page was
tinier than anything else. Even smaller than the six boys
drawn.
I frowned while everyone else burst out laughing. Stone
looked at the drawing and barked out a laugh too.
"It is because you are abnormally large, Lurch." I gritted out
while crossing my arms "I am not small!"
"Sure you are not, Medusa." He chuckled while bending
down to leave a kiss on the top of my head.
"Whatever." I sighed because I could not stay angry at my
boys for long "Lets go and get some apple pancakes."
"Yay!" They all shouted happily before racing off towards the
kitchen "Apple pancakes!"
"I want mine with gummy bears." I heard one of them say
before they charged determinedly through to the kitchen.
Stone wrapped an arm around me as we made our way
through to the kitchen to join the kids.
I peered between the large man and my ruckus of a group of
children and laughed gleefully "Who knew when we first met
that you and I would be married with six kids?"
"Me. I did." Stone growled before grumbling "I knew as soon
as I saw you that you were my forever."
My husband then took a hold of my hand and brought it up
to his mouth before his dark eyes set on my emerald
wedding ring
"Did I ever tell you the story about when I got your ring?" He
asked as he looked from the gem to me.
"You bought it before we set off to Brazil." I said as that was
what I always assumed had happened.
Stone stared at me intensely and unfalteringly as he
elaborated "I first met you the pier on Friday. I bought the
ring on the Saturday. The day after."
A laugh left me and then I noticed that there was not a
single hint of amusement on his strikingly harsh feature.
My laughter died out and I opened my mouth. Then shut it
again.
"You are not serious." I spluttered "You can't be."
He looked me dead in the eye with his usual serious grumpy
face
"You...You crazy man" I mustered up as I was lost for words
"I love you."
Decorating the hallway was many pictures of us on the wall.
The first framed photo on the wall was Stone and me on a
beach in Rio De Janeiro. The picture had been taken an hour
after our visit to The Royal Portuguese Reading Room. A
place that had changed my life in a way that I had not
expected.
I should have known what was happening that day. The
clues were there. I had told him that it was my dream to try
and steal a book from the library. He encouraged me by
suggesting to look in the poetry section for an Edgar Allan
Poe book. I found the book and I did hide it under my
sundress while we ran out of the place. I really should have
found it suspicious when the Brazilian librarian smiled at
me.
When we stopped outside of the old building, it was only
then I opened the book and discovered that it was not
actually a book.
Among the pages and carved into the paper was an opening
that held a velvet box. I remembered the feeling of shock
and pure happiness when I let my attention stray from the
box and to Stone on one knee.
He then asked me to marry him. It was less of a questions
and more of a demand. I always laughed when I thought
about his proposal. The not so charming and elegant words
of You are marrying me, Medusa as he slipped onto my
finger the ring with the green coloured gemstone.
Like I would ever say no.
Next to that photo was the fairytale esque scene of our
wedding. A forest at night lit up by green fairy lights. The
photo was of our first dance.
I still giggled to myself when I thought of the guest's shock
when our song Teenage Dirtbag played as we swayed in the
middle of the decorated woodland. It was our song and it
still made sense to me as I was still nineteen at the time.
Sometimes I wished we had a photo of the ceremony but
then I thought back and realised that I was a mess while
constantly crying tears of happiness as I said my vows.
However, my vision was not blurry enough to miss the lone
tear that escaped from Stone's eye when he saw me in my
wedding dress.
My favourite photo however was one of all of us at a play
park. The one where all the boys were laughing while I was
perched on Stone's shoulders reaching for the monkey bars.
If my life was a fairytale, then it would be the best one there
ever was.
"Mom!" One of our pebbles asked randomly from the
kitchen "Can we get a dog?"
"Tell them no." Stone rasped out grumpily.
"Why not?" I challenged "Do you think I will give it more
attention than I do you?"
Silence.
"You do not need a dog. You have the next best thing." I told
the kids while shooting Stone a mischievous smile “A six-
foot seven scary man who makes the same noises as one."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Acknowledgments
Fairytale Green was written through a really tough time in
my life. Dealing with mental health issues and overcoming
stress and a depressed state would have not been possible
if it were not for my writing. Writing comedy and romance
was a way of cheering myself up and originally the book
was just for myself for a comfort. That was up until I had a
conversation with a few people on the internet book
community that spoke about the lack of enemies to lovers
books where the man is obsessed at first sight and
respectful of the protagonist. I made it my mission to write
the ultimate comedy comfort book with the perfect amount
of steamy scenes. One random day, I had a vision of this
tiny green haired girl throwing a shoe at this massive scary
giant of a man and then fairytale green was born.
I want to thank my mum and my dad for being so supportive
of me, not of this book though because you don’t know
about it and you never will.
A massive thank you to the first boy that ever asked me out,
Matthew (even though he is a massive bully). We never got
our enemies to lovers story but that doesn’t mean I don’t
love you more than the twilight saga, loca.
Nothing will ever be as romantic as that story of you and the
guy in the caravan at the market, chlo but I did try. Thank
you for being such a supportive friend and for pinging your
pee stick in my eye when you thought you were pregnant. I
love you more than miraculous ladybug.
This book’s harshest critic has to be Murray. My porn star
martini buddy likes to read the smut and laugh. I’m so sorry
for spilling your cider over your lap in the cinema.
After one minute together, we bonded over our love for
smut and hot fictional men. Ellie, thank you so much for
reading the book and actually liking it. Your taste is
depraved but very much the same as mine.
Sophie, thank you so much for listening to me plan and
write my book during biology class. We both failed the
subject but at least I’m publish a book and you are in the
acknowledgments.
Walking around my estate and yours and talking all things
fairytale green, sonny has been one of the biggest supports
for me. We both looked at each other seven years ago and
knew that we would be besties for life.
To my friends that had to pick me up off the club floor when
I fainted. Natasha, Claudia, Rose, Connie and Louise, I’m so
sorry you ended up with me as a friend. One day, you
should just leave me on the floor to rot and go get your
cheesy chips from Bobby’s.
I also want to say a massive thank you to Natasha, Alex and
Amy. Thank you so much for getting me through Rome
classes and all the goblins/gobbets we have to write.
It might be in January but the Wallows concert is going to be
the highlight of the year. To the girlies that I drink my weight
in cocktails at Slug and Lettuce with, thanks for judging me
for publishing smut. Amanda, Georgie and Carmen, you are
the best.
This book would not even have been started without my
grandparents gifting me a book about mindfulness creative
writing. I know this is not what you intended but...surprise!
Never would the book have been continued without the
online readers that supported me through the past year. I
love every single one of you more than gummy bear.
Lastly, a great big thank you to Ella and Stone. You will
always be my first book characters and you have achieved
me so much. the very very very early drafts, I planned to
write the book about Lana and Stone getting together (I
know, ew!) I only got two chapters into writing and it was
obvious Stone only had eyes for Ella. I did not even have to
purposely write the chemistry between Stone and Ella
because it just happened. Their romance wrote itself and I
so hope I done them justice
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Turn the page to read an
exclusive chapter from Stone’s
point of view from when he first
laid his eyes on Ella
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stone’s Chapter
I was going to fucking kill someone.
It was a thought I had at least twelve
times a day but I had had the murderous
thought forty seven times in the past
minute. I had also contemplated throwing
myself off the pier to get out of listening
to the droning sound of my brother flirting
with another one of his blonde girls.
My phone nearly cracked under the
pressure of my hand as I typed a one word
answer violently to an impatient Reed who
was wondering where we were.
I needed to fight. I needed to do
something to feel one single hint of
emotion. I needed something to remind
me that I was alive.
The blonde girl who’s name I did not know
and who I had no intention of knowing
threw her head back and laughed as she
rounded up her story “And that is how I
ended up grounded for three months.”
“So you are a troublemaker then?”
Brennan’s overly friendly voice
questioned.
I considered letting my next opponent
land a blow on my face in hope that I
could erase there awkward conversation
from my fucking mind.
“My brother is the troublemaker. Before he
went to college he was anyway.” The
blonde giggled, the sound like a torturous
siren to my ears “You should have seen
my parents’ face when they caught him
and my best friend playing strip poker in
the basement.”
I let out a breath in frustration that was
unintentionally low yet loud.
The girl’s phone sounded from across the
table and I almost cursed aloud at the
annoying ringtone of some pop star.
I never understood the fascination of
dating. I never understood why people
would intentionally want company. If I had
my way, I would live alone up a mountain
somewhere where I would not be fucking
disturbed. I would build a twenty foot wall
around my home and never interact with
another soul again.
“He has a friend.” The female voice spoke
to the person on the other end of the
phone “So you will not be a third wheel. I
promise.” 
For the first time since arriving at this
nightmare place with the overly bright
decor, I slowly allowed my head to lift up. I
eyed the two of them as I narrowed my
eyes. 
There was no fucking way in this lifetime
or any other that I was talking to some
girl.
The blonde shrunk in her seat as I allowed
my shoulders to straiten. Brennan also
shuffled away from me at the sight of my
full height.
The dead, dead man next to me nudged
me with his elbow before quietly
conveying “Be nice.”
That was the funniest fucking thing I had
ever heard. However, I did not laugh.
“It-it’s um...fine.” The blonde stuttered out
as I finally glanced at her uninterestedly
“It was a joke because Ella is kinda seeing
someone. She would never go for you. You
are like the furthest thing from her type.
She always goes for the blonde athletic
asshole type and I’m sure you’re really
nice and all but she loves dickheads. Her
words, not mine and I—“
The rant that was causing me a migraine
cut off when the bell from the front door of
the ship rang.
My heart stopped fucking beating.
Then it started again. It beat faster than
ever.
I looked away from the door and blinked
twice before I peered back at the door.
The breath gets knocked out from my
lungs once again and my heart skips one
fucking beat.
I have died and what a beautiful death it
was. I had either entered heaven and seen
an angel or I had fell to hell and witnessed
my damnation. I theorised it was both. 
I could not move. I did not want. I did not
want the girl to disappear. If she was a
vision then I never wanted to live in
reality.
My eyes travelled all over her. I watched
as her black boots came to a stop and as
her slender legs with the fishnet tights
and jean shorts stopped moving. I
watched as her chest moved up and down
under her thrasher t-shirt, a sign of her
heart beating fast.
Her heart that only beat for me. She was
born for me. She was made to be mine.
I could feel the obsession taking over me. I
could feel it growing and spreading to
every cell in my body like an incurable
disease.
Her round face was flushed. Her freckles
decorated her rosy cheeks. Her lips were
full and pouty, with her bottom lip bigger
and begging to be touched. 
There was endless infinite perfections of
this girl but what captured my attention
first was her hair. It was bright green. It
was the green of the grass on a summer
morning. It was the shining colour of an
emerald.
The breathtaking beautiful girl that was
destined for me eyed my large body up
and down as her mouth set into a frown.
Her adorable features contorted to that of
determination as she crossed her arms
over her chest.
She was looking at me as if I was a
mountain she wanted to conquer. If I was
a beast she had to fight to get to her
happily ever after. 
For what felt like the first time in my life, I
felt amusement. It hit me like a bullet
train. 
I looked down at my hands as they
gripped the table tightly, restraining
themselves from grabbing what belonged
to them.
I was her big bad dragon and she was my
princess. I would protect her but I would
also steal her away so that nobody could
ever see her but me.
My chest moved up and down rapidly and
my fists squeezed shut as I fought the
urges. Everything inside of me was
screaming to rush towards her and
throwing her over my shoulder. Every
moment in my life had been for this
moment. This moment where all I needed
to do was bring her home and make her
mine. 
She was so small and looked so fragile. I
would have to be gentle. I had never been
gentle before. I would have to learn. For
her, I had to learn. She looked so innocent
but I knew that she could ruin me with one
look. She already had.
I was about to rise. I was about to go and
take my future wife and attempt to talk to
her.
I hated speaking. I had went without
saying a work from zero to twelve. I had to
force myself to speak when I was first
arrested at the age of thirteen for
violence. I only ever spoke when it was
absolutely necessary.
Everyone in this world was a waste of air. 
Not her though. Never her.
I wanted to speak to her.
She was too perfect that I doubted she
was real. She was so hauntingly ethereal.
So perfectly enchanting.
I cared about nothing in this world except
making my way towards her. I had no care
for Brennan and the girl or her best friend
who had still not made an appearance.
She was my whole world now. She was in
my blood. I would worship and protect her.
One sight and I knew I was going to love
her more than any man loved anything.
Often, I questioned my existence. Not
anymore. I was put on this planet to be
with her. I breathed for her.
Nothing could stop me from getting to my
girl.
The two others who were hazy in my
peripheral vision turned to see what I was
looking at.
“Ella.” The blonde called as she waved to
my girl “Get over here.”
My girl broke out into a smile as her
attention fell away from me and as she
made our way to the table.
I growled under my breath. I hated that
her attention was away from me. I hated it
more than anything in my life.
Her name was Ella. The love of my life was
called Ella.
She was even more radiant up close. Her
green hair glowed. The whole of her
glowed. Her doe eyes were the most
exquisite shade of brown and they were so
huge and sparkling that I wanted them to
be on me forever. 
I counted the amount of freckles on her
cheeks as I fell deeper and harder every
millisecond.
She had thirteen freckles. Seven on her
left cheek and six on her right.
I wanted to know her body. I wanted to
know every single thing on her mind. I
wanted all of her and I would not settle for
less.
The heart beating in my chest was no
longer mine. It was hers. Everything I did
now was for her.
Ella rested her tiny hands on the table and
tapped her chipped black nails nervously
as she lowly laughed “Are you going to
introduce me?”
My head almost fell slightly and my eyes
nearly rolled to the back of my head at the
sound of her voice. It was soft and light
and beautiful and it was the only sound I
ever wanted to hear in my life. 
“This is Brennan.” The girl with the blonde
hair introduced “And this is his friend
Stone.”
The beautiful brown eyes lit up in
amusement as Ella bit her lip and looked
between the two of us.
I did not like sharing her attention.
Her small hand went up in a wave as she
replied “Hi, I’m Ella.”
Brennan smiled at her as he replied "It is
nice to meet to you, Ella."
Her smile grew and her full focus was not
on me when she spoke again "You too."
White hot fury shot up my spine. I had
been angry and I had been furious but
never like this. The feeling I had never
experienced before made me want to hit
my brother’s head against the table and
then shot-put him off the pier and into the
sea, where he could never speak to Ella
again.
She glanced at me quickly before she
nodded her head and smiled once again.
It was as if someone had punched me in
the chest. I placed my hand over the
middle of my middle and rubbed the spot
in which the green girl had took
possession of.
I forced myself to look away for a small
relief from the antagonising need for her
as I muttered under my breath “Fuck.”
The table went silent again and I knew I
was seconds away from begging on my
knees to hear one word from her lips. 
A conversation that I had no interested in
apart from what Ella had to say took
place. I only listened to the light voice of
the girl opposite me.
She spoke again "Do you by any chance
like Barbie films?"
It took me a whole five seconds to realise
she was speaking to me.
The goddess was speaking to me.
Something possessed me and a noise I did
not even recognise left me. Perhaps it was
a sigh or a moan.
Her smile faltered and I almost flipped the
table at the thought of her being unhappy.
"I will take that as a no then, Lurch." She
commented.
I wondered who this Lurch guy was, what
his relationship was with my girl and how
exactly I could find him so that I could
crush him.
"What did you just call me?" I accused, my
voice strong and deep as I yearned to
know why she would address me with
another man’s name.
She was mine. I did not care if I had to kill
every man in this world to make sure she
chose me. I did not care if I needed to set
this whole world on fire to make sure it
was me and her. 
"Lurch from The Addams Family." She
answered as she tilted her head to the
side challengingly "He is the big guy that
never speaks and only groans and
grumbles occasionally." 
I never took my eyes off her. I was
incapable of the unthinkable action.
"Wait! I think he has a catchphrase." She
laughed lightly before changing her voice
to one that was deep "You rang?"
I almost smiled. 
She was so cute and precious and smart.
Every whimsical and magnificent adjective
was her.
Her attention once again left me. I was
going to go insane. I was so close to
picking up the small girl and stealing her
away.
I concluded that the best way to get her
was to pick her up and not let her down
until I pleaded with her to love me back.
The blonde girl coughed before she
interrupted my plotting to steal away my
future wife "Anyway, how was your date?"
I stopped fucking moving.
I wanted to flip the table. I wanted to roar
in anguish and in murderous. I had never
wanted to fight more in my life. I needed
to get blood on my hands and preferably
the idiot of a boy who think he is good
enough for the deity in front of me.
"It was fine." Ella shrugged as if she had
not just tipped my heart out and sent me
on a spiral of insanity "The whole twenty
minutes of it."
My knuckles cracked as I clenched my fists
and unclenched them. I balled them up so
tight that I could feel the tension in my
brain. I ground my teeth and scowled as I
prepared to face the bastard face on.
I could not even comprehend the very
idea of Ella looking at someone else.
Never mind the thought of anything else.
My stomach churned and I fought the
need to go ahead with my plan to kidnap
her and find the nearest priest.
Every single person on this planet needed
to know what I was hers and she was
mine. The whole world needed to know
that she was going to said I do to me and
carry my babies in her stomach.
The very thought almost had me calming
down.
"How did your date go?" The blonde girl
asked again.
I was spiralling into a pit of rage. All I
could see was red. And green. All I could
see was her. 
I kicked the table in order to get her
attention. I kicked the table and took out
my frustration on the furniture for keeping
me away from the one person that made
me feel something. I kicked the table and
thought of her giving that beautiful smile
to anyone else. 
She had unlocked something in me.
Something that no person could
distinguish. 
"It was fine." Ella answered her friend’s
question "I guess."
She would never go on a date again. She
would be lucky if she ever spoke to or saw
another male again. She was never going
to be left alone again. She had her own
permanent chaperone. 
"The main issue was that he never got my
Great Gatsby reference." Ella huffed
before going ahead and explaining "He
saw this green light in the distance and
asked what it was. Naturally, I responded
by calling him Old Sport. He looked at me
like I was insane and that I was speaking
some sort of ancient alien language."
She was perfect for me. So utterly perfect.
I felt the click of our souls meeting.
The next few minutes were a blur. I did not
listen to any words. I was too busy
enchanted by the beauty that I wanted to
stare at twenty-four hours every day.
My Ella pretended as if she did not notice
me but her cheeks were flushed. She
knew I was wanting her and needing her.
She knew deep down how insanely
obsessed I had become.
I was not apologetic about how crazy I was
for her. 
I smirked as I imagined maiming the boy
who thought he had a chance with this
girl. I would cut off his hands and use
them to fuel a fire to keep my precious
Medusa warm.
Medusa. She had turned me into stone. A
statue that would forever be hers. She had
no option but to keep me.
“What colour is your hair anyway?”
Brennan questioned Ella, adding more to
his treason against me “Emerald?”
I had lost my mind. I could not think or
breathe or function.
Everything was Ella.
"Puke Coloured?"
The question was rough sounding, and it
was only when Ella gaped at me that I
realised that it was me that spoke. 
Inwardly, I grinned to myself as the
goddess leaned over table and pointed
one small finger at me accusingly. 
All I could think was that I needed to get a
green ring on her perfect little wedding
finger as soon as possible. I needed to get
a ring and I would not settle for anything
less than unearthly. It had capture the
essence of her. 
Her face was pink and her freckles stood
out more. The colour of her cheeks went
irresistibly with the shade of her hair.
"Listen here, Lurch. You obviously have
bad taste in colour." She bit out the words
while narrowing her eyes further at me "It
is fairytale green."
All she was focused on was me and I
smirked in triumph. 
Her faux anger and determination lit up a
flame inside of her and I would be damned
if I lost sight of that fire. 
"What the fuck is fairytale green?" I
challenged.
She leaned back in her chair, and I almost
let out a growl at the lack of proximity of
us. 
"It is the green of the trees at an outdoor
wedding. It is the green of the grass where
you sit with your partner when you're old,
shaking your fists at the neighbour’s kid
who trespass on skateboards. It is the
green of my hair." Ella rambled on in one
quick breath "It is fairytale green!" 
Fairytale green was my favourite fucking
colour.
When I first spotted her, it was like my
universe had shifted. I could never have
resisted the gravitational pull she had on
me. It was like she was the centre of the
universe and I was the biggest, baddest
planet in the galaxy revolving around her.
I would go to the ends of the earth for her.
I would chase her across time and space. I
would do the imaginable to make her
happy.